HERE  A  LITTLE  AND  THEEE  A  LITTLE 


OR, 


SCRIPTURE   FACTS 


W     THE     AUTHOR     OF     "  THE    FEEP    OP     DAT,"    K  LINE    UPSN    L!r«,* 
" PRECEPT    UPON    PRECEPT." 


VU».0UNN1.  !••»'' 


NEW  YORK: 
CHARLES    SCRIBNER, 

145    NASSAU    STREET. 

1853. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://archive.org/details/herelittletherelOOmort 


CONTENTS 


Fags. 

THIS  WORLD,          •                                        -  5 

THE  OLD  SERPENT,     -                                                   -        -  10 

THE  FIRST  MURDER,     -               " .      -'        -                -  15 

THE  GREAT  RAIN,         ...                ....  20 

THE  FIRE  ON  THE  MOUNTAIN,               ,         .       -        -  26 

THE  RAVENS, 31 

THE  BURNING  FIERY  FURNACE, 37 

THE  DEN  OF  LIONS, 43 

THF  HEAVENLY  BABE  AND  ITS  MOTHER,  49 

THE  HAPPY  NIGHT, 54 

THE  OLD  MAN  AND  THE  BABE, 60 

THE  KING  OF  THE  JEWS, 65 

THE  HEAVENLY  BOY, 71 

THE  HEAVENLY  DOVE,                .....  76 

CHRIST  IN  THE  WILDERNESS, 81 

THE  HEAVENLY  LAMB, 86 

THE  MAN  UNDER  THE  TREE, 91 

THE  WOMAN  AT  THE  WELL, 96 

THE  FOUR  FISHERMEN,               102 

THE  WIDOW  AND  HER  SON, 107 

THE  WOMAN  WHO  WASHED  THE  SAVIOUR'S  FEET,  112 

THE  WILD  MAN, 117 

THE  CHILD  WHO  DIED  AND  LIVED  AGAIN,           -        -  122 

THE  DANCING  GIRL, 127 

THE  SUPPER  ON  THE  GRASS, 132 

CHRIST  IN  THE  STOEM 137 


CONTENTS. 

Pag* 

THE  PRAYING  MOTHER, 143 

CHRIST  SHINING  ON  THE  MOUN1AIN,  147 

THE  MISERABLE  BOY, 152 

THE  TWO  SISTERS, 157 

THE  CRIPPLE, 162 

THE  BLIND  BEGGAR  OF  JERUSALEM,  ...  167 

LITTLE  CHILDREN, 172 

THE  TEN  SICK  MEN, .177 

THE  BLIND  BEGGAR  OF  JERICHO,  *        -       ■>  MB 

THE  MAN  IN  THE  TREE, 187 

CHRIST  IN  THE  GARDEN, 192 

THE  MAN  WHO  SAT  BY  THE  FIRE  IN  THE  HALL,  197 

THE  MAN  WHO  HANGED  HIMSELF,  202 

THE  JUDGE, 208 

CHRIST  ON  THE  CROSS,  213 

THE  DYING  THIEF, 219 

CHRIST  IN  THE  TOMB, 225 

THE  WOMAN  WEEPING  AT  THE  TOMB,  229 

THE  HAPPY  MORNING, 234 

THE  HAPPY  EVENING, 239 

CHRIST  GOING  UP  TO  HEAVEN, 244 

THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  COMING  DOWN  FROM  HEAVEN,  249 

THE  TWO  LIARS, 054 

THE  MAN  IN  THE  CHARIOT,  259 

THE  MAN  WHO  SAW  TJJE  GREAT  LIGHT,    -  -  264 

THE  MAN  WHO  SAW  HEAVEN  BEFORE  HE  DIED,  269 


THIS  WORLD. 


Once  there  was   a  deaf  and  dumb  boy  who 

used  to  wonder  how  the  world  was  made.  As 
he  was  deaf,  he  had  never  heard  anything,  and 
as  he  was  dumb,  he  could  not  ask  any  body. 
At  last  he  was  taught  to  understand  signs  with 
the  fingers,  and  then  he  was  told  who  made 
the  world.  How  much  delighted  he  was  to 
find  that  God  made  the  world — God,  who  is  so 
very  good. 

What  is  God  like?  Nothing  that  you  ha\e 
seen.  A  picture  of  him  could  not  be  drawn 
because  he  has  not  a  body  like  you  and  me  ; 
he  is  a  spirit — he  is  everywhere.  But  there  is 
one  place  in  which  he  lives ;  it  is  called  hea- 
1* 


6  THE    WORLD. 

ven.  I  cannot  tell  }rou  where  it  is.  No  bird 
could  fly  to  that  place ;  but  angels  often  come 
down  from  heaven  into  this  world. 

And  what  are  angels  ?  They  are  spirits. 
There  are  good  angels  in  heaven.  Though 
they  have  no  bodies,  yet  they  shine  like  the 
sun.  Who  made  the  angels?  It  was  God. 
Once  God  was  alone  in  heaven.  But  he  did 
not  choose  to  be  always  alone.  He  made  the 
angels.  Some  of  them  grew  wicked,  and  he 
turned  them  out  of  heaven.  Those  wicked 
angels  are  called  devils. 

At  last  God  made  the  world — this  world  in 
which  we  live.  Of  what  did  he  make  it  ?  Of 
nothing.  How  did  he  make  it?  By  speaking 
— he  said,  "  Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was 
%ht. 

This  world  is  very  large.     What  shape  is  it  ? 

You  have  seen  the  moon — this  world  is  the 
same  shape  as  the  moon.  Do  you  think  it  is 
flat,  like  a  plate,  or  a  shilling?  Oh,  no;  it 
is  round,  like  an  orange.  Many  children  think 
the  world  is  flat,  and  then  they  wonder  what 
is  at  the  edge  of  the  world.  They  think  to 
themselves,  "  If  I  were  to  travel  a  great  way, 
at  last  I  should  come  to  the  edge ;"  but  they 
never  would. 

If  a  fly  were  walking  on  an  orange,  would 
it  ever  come  to  the  edge  ?  No ;  when  it  had 
gone  a  great  way,  it  would  come  round  to  the 
same  place  again  where  it  was  at  first ;  and  so 
would  you,  if  you  were  to  travel  a  very  long 


THE    WORLD.  7 

way  without  ever  turning  back.  If  you  could 
measure  the  world,  you  would  find  that  it  is 
twenty-five  thousand  miles  around  it. 

Most  of  the  world  is  covered  over  with  the 
great  sea,  but  part  of  it  is  dry  land.  Once  the 
land  was  all  bare,  but  God  spoke,  and  it  was 
covered  with  grass,  and  flowers,  and  trees, 
and  corn.  Once  it  was  empty  ;  no  one  lived 
in  it ;  but  God  spoke,  and  fishes  swam  in  the 
waters,  and  birds  flew  in  the  air,  and  reptiles 
crept  upon  the  ground,  and  beasts  walked 
there.  But  not  one  of  all  these  creatures 
could  understand.  They  could  eat  and  drink, 
some  could  swim,  some  could  climb,  some  could 
run,  and  some  could  sing,  but  not  one  could 
understand.  Then  God  made  a  man.  He 
took  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  made  a  body 
for  the  man  ;  and  then  he  breathed  into  him, 
and  he  gave  him  a  soul.  The  man  could  un- 
derstand, and  think  of  God.  His  name  was 
called  Adam.  God  took  a  rib  out  of  his  side, 
and  made  a  woman  ;  and  she,  too,  could  think 
of  God. 

Can  you,  my  dear  child,  think  of  God  ?  I 
am  sure  you  can.  You  listen  now  that  I  am 
telling  you  about  him.  If  I  were  to  talk  to  a 
little  dog,  or  to  a  cow,  or  to  a  sheep,  about 
God,  would  it  listen  ?  Oh,  no.  If  I  offered  a 
dog  some  food,  it  would  look  up  and  seem 
pleased,  but  it  could  not  understand  about 
God.  What  is  the  reason  of  this  ?  The  dog 
has   a  body,  but  it  has  no  soul.     You,  my 


8  THE    WORLD. 

child,  have  a  soul.  God  gave  you  a  soul  as 
well  as  a  body. 

I  once  heard  of  a  little  child  of  two  years 
old,  who  said  to  her  mother,  "  Who  made  me  ? 
some  one  must  have  made  me."  Her  mother 
said,  "It  was  God,  my  child."  "Then,"  said 
the  little  darling,  looking  up  quite  pleased  in 
her  mother's  face — "  then  I  love  him."  And 
well  she  might  love  God,  for  he  not  only  made 
her,  but  he  did  more  than  that  for  her.  God 
sent  his  Son  to  die  for  her,  and  for  you,  and  for 
me.  Yes,  my  child,  this  is  true  ;  I  cannot  tell 
you  all  about  it  now,  but  some  day  I  hope  you 
will  hear  a  great  deal  about  God's  kindness  in 
sending  his  dear  Son  Jesus  Christ  into  this 
wTorld. 

God  loves  us  very  much,  and  he  wants  us 
to  be  happy.  The  devil  wants  us  to  be  un- 
happy. The  devil  hates  us,  but  you  need  not 
be  afraid  of  the  devil.  Ask  God  to  help  you, 
and  no  one  can  hurt  you.  Whenever  you  like, 
you  may  speak  to  God.  He  is  always  near, 
and  can  hear  you.  I  know  you  have  done 
many  naughty  things,  but  God  is  willing  to 
forgive  you. 

Here  is  a  little  prayer  just  fit  for  you  and 
me  :  "  O  heavenly  Father,  forgive  me,  for  the 
sake  of  thy  dear  Son  Jesus  Christ." 

A  minister  once  came  to  see  a  child  who 
was  dying.  He  saw  that  the  child  wanted  to 
speak  to  him.     He  stooped  down  to  listen  to  its 


THE    WORLD.  9 

weak  voice,   and  he  heard    it   say,    "God   is 
love !" 

If  you  have  a  Bible  at  home,  you  may  read 
in  the  beginning  of  the  book  about  God  mak- 
ing the  world. 

Behold  the  daisy  where  you  tread, 

That  little  lowly  thing  J 
Behold  the  insects  overhead, 

That  play  about  in  spring : 
Though  we  may  think  them  mean  ax*.1' 
Yet  God  takes  notice  of  them  all. 

And  will  he  not  as  surely  make 

A  feeble  child  his  care  1 
Yes;  Jesus  died  for  children's  sake,, 

And  loves  the  infant's  prayer. 
God  made  the  stars  and  daisies,  ti»c» 
And  watches  over  them  and  yo'i. 


THE  OLD  SERPENT. 

When  children  are  very  little,  they  begin  to 
do  wrong.  A  child  will  sometimes,  when  its 
mother  is  not  looking,  slyly  take  a  pinch  of 
sugar  out  of  the  basin  ;  or  when  its  mother  is 
out  of  the  room,  it  has  been  known  to  go  to  the 
cupboard  and  help  itself  to  sugar,  fruit,  or  nice 
red  jam.  Is  it  not  very  naughty  in  these  little 
children  to  behave  in  this  way  ?  But  this  is 
not  all.  When  a  little  child  is  caught  in  doing 
wrong,  it  will  often  tell  lies.  If  the  mother 
finds  it  at  the  cupboard,  it  will  say  it  has  not 
taken  anything,  when  it  has.  It  would  be  well 
if  children  were  ashamed  of  their  naughtiness. 
but  they  will  often  laugh  about  it.  When  I 
have  spoken  about  stealing,  I  have  seen  chil- 
dren look  at  each  other  and  laugh.  How 
wicked  that  was ! 

Is  it  children  only  who  are  wicked  ?  Do 
not  men  and  women  do  many  wrong  things  ? 
Yes ;  there  are  men  and  women  who  swear, 
who  cheat,  who  call  names,  and  tell  lies. 
How  is  it  people  are  so  wicked  ?  Did  God 
make  them  wicked  ?  Oh,  no  !  God  is  good ; 
he  never  made    anybody  wicked.     It  is  the 


THE    OLD    SERPENT.  11 

devil  who  makes  people  wicked.  I  will  tell 
you  how  he  made  the  first  man  and  woman 
wicked.  Their  names  were  Adam  and  Eve. 
God  made  their  bodies  out  of  the  dust  of  the 
ground.  He  gave  them  souls  as  well  as 
bodies ;  and  they  could  think  of  him,  and  un- 
derstand what  he  said.  Beasts  and  birds  have 
no  souls :  they  cannot  think  of  God.  Adam 
and  Eve  were  very  good.  They  loved  each 
other,  and  they  loved  God  better  still.  They 
were  very  happy.  They  lived  in  a  sweet  gar- 
den, called  the  Garden  of  Eden — or  Paradise. 
You  never  saw7  such  a  garden  as  that. 

It  was  full  of  fruit  trees.  God  allowed  them 
to  eat  the  fruit.  But  he  told  them  not  to  eat 
of  the  fruit  of  one  tree  which  grew  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  garden.  He  said,  if  they  ate  the 
fruit  of  that  tree  they  should  die. 

The  devil  did  not  like  to  see  Adam  and  Eve 
so  happy.  He  is  very  miserable  himself, 
and  he  wishes  everybody  to  be  miserable. 
Once  he  was  a  good  angel,  and  lived  with  God, 
but  he  grew  wicked,  and  was  cast  down  to 
hell.  The  devil  came  into  the  Garden  of 
Eden.  He  is  called  the  Old  Serpent,  because, 
he  is  so  sly.  He  said  to  Eve,  "  Has  God  said 
you  shall  not  eat  of  every  tree  of  the  garden  ?" 

And  Eve  told  him  that  they  might  eat  of  the 
fruit  of  all  the  trees,  except  of  one.  But  God 
had  said,  if  they  ate  that,  or  even  touched  it, 
they  should  die. 

Then  the  serpent  said,  they  should  not  die, 


12  TH3    OLD    SERPENT. 

but  if  tliey  ate  of  that  fruit  they  should  become 
wise  like  God. 

The  serpent  told  a  lie.  Why  did  Eve  be- 
lieve him  sooner  than  God  ?  She  took  some 
of  the  fruit,  and  she  gave  some  to  Adam. 
They  soon  found  out  how  foolish  they  had 
been.  They  were  not  happy  now  ;  they  were 
sinners ;  they  had  disobeyed  the  command- 
ment of  God. 

When  they  heard  God  speaking  in  the  gar- 
den, they  were  frightened,  and  hid  themselves 
among  the  trees.  How  foolish  it  was  to  think 
they  could  hide  themselves  from  God !  Can- 
not God,  who  made  the  trees,  see  through  the 
thickest  boughs  ? 

God  might  have  left  Adam  to  himself,  and 
let  the  devil  take  him  away  to  hell.  But  God 
is  very  good  and  kind  :  he  spoke  to  Adam,  and 
said,  "  Where  art  thou  ?" 

Adam  was  obliged  to  answer  God,  but  he 
did  not  speak  as  he  ought ;  he  said  that  the 
woman  had  given  him  of  the  fruit — that  was  a 
bad  excuse.  Why  did  he  take  the  fruit  ?  Eve 
said  the  serpent  had  told  her  lies — that  was  a 
bad  excuse.  Why  did  she  believe  the  ser- 
pent ? 

God  was  most  angry  with  the  serpent ;  he 
cursed  him.  But  he  did  not  curse  Adam  and 
Eve.  He  told  Adam  he  must  work  hard  to 
get  his  bread,  and  he  told  Eve  that  she  would 
have  much  sorrow  with  her  little  children  ; 
and  he  turned  them  both  out  of  the  garden, 


THE    OLD    SERPENT.  13 

and  sent  an  angel  to  stand  at  the  gate  tc  keep 
them  out.  But  God  did  not  curse  Adam  and 
Eve  ;  he  loved  them,  and  wished  to  save  them 
from  going  to  be  forever  in  hell  with  the  devil. 

God  has  an  only  Son,  whom  he  loves.  He 
has  sent  this  only  Son  to  die  instead'  of  Adam 
and  Eve,  and  their  children.  How  kind  it  was 
in  God  to  send  his  dear  Son  to  die  for  us,  that 
we  might  not  be  cursed  for  ever  ! 

We  are  Adam's  children,  and  we  should  go 
to  hell  if  it  were  not  for  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son 
of  God.  We  are  sinners,  like  Adam  and  Eve. 
Why  is  it  that  children  steal  and  tell  lies  ? 
Because  they  are  the  children  of  Adam  and 
Eve,  who  took  the  fruit. 

Your  bodies  must  turn  to  dust  in  the  grave 
— will  you  souls  go  to  hell  ?  I  hope  not. 
There  is  one  who  can  save  you.  Go  to  Jesus. 
He  is  in  heaven  now,  but  he  can  hear  you.  Say 
to  him,  "  Pardon  a  sinful  child."  Ask  him 
very  often  to  forgive  you.  Ask  God,  his  Fa- 
ther, to  forgive  you  for  the  sake  of  his  deal 
Son  Jesus ;  and  ask  for  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  make  you  good.  Then  you  will  hate  steal- 
ing and  lying,  and  all  wicked  ways. 
„  I  will  tell  you  a  sweet  verse  out  of  the  Bible, 
and  I  wish  you  would  learn  it ;  "  God  so  loved 
the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  in  him,  should  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."   John  3:16. 

Should  you  not  like  to  learn  a  pretty  hyn  22 
2 


14  TILE    OLD    SERPENT. 

about  all  this?     Well,  then,  here  is  one.    Pray 
read  it,  and  try  to  remember  it. 

Our  father  ate  forbidden  fruit, 

And  from  his  glory  fell ; 
And  we,  his  children,  thus  were  broagh 

To  death,  and  near  to  hell. 

Blest  be  the  Lord,  that  sent  his  Son 

To  take  our  flesh  and  blood  ; 
He  for  our  lives  gave  up  his  own, 
,     To  make  our  peace  with  God. 

He  honor'd  all  his  Father's  laws, 

Which  we  have  disobeyed ; 
He  bore  our  sins  upon  the  cross, 

And  our  full  ransom  paid. 


THE  FIRST  MURDER. 

Have  you  ever  heard  an  account  of  a  mur- 
der ?  I  know  you  have.  Almost  every  week 
we  hear  of  some  horrible  murder,  and  soon 
afterwards  we  hear  of  the  murderer  being 
caught  and  hanged. 

Who  was  the  man  who  dared  to  commit 
the  first  murder  ?  His  name  was  Cain ;  his 
father  and  mother  were  called  Adam  and  Eve, 
and  they  were  the  first  man  and  woman  whom 
God  made.  Cain  was  their  first  baby.  His 
mother  was  pleased  when  she  saw  her  baby, 
for  she  did  not  know  what  a  wicked  man  he 
would  grow  up.  When  we  see  little  children, 
we  cannot  tell  what  sort  of  people  they  will 
become.  Eve  had  another  son,  whom  she 
called  Abel.  He  grew  up  to  be  a  good  man. 
God  had  given  Abel  his  Holy  Spirit  to  make 
him  good,  and  Abel  loved  God  and  tried  to 
please  him.  Cain  soon  found  out  that  God 
loved  Abel  better  than  himself,  and  this  made 
him  angry.  Why  did  not  Cain  ask  God  to 
give  him  his  Holy  Spirit,  too  ?  Then  ne  would 
have  been  good  like  Abel. 

I   dare   say   you   have   sometimes    seen    a 


16  THE    FIRST    MURDER 

naughty,  sulky  child  sitting  in  a  corner  of  the 
room,  not  choosing  to  speak  to  anybody,  or,  if 
he  spoke,  grumbling  and  calling  names.  That 
naughty  child  was  like  Cain.  God  in  the  sky 
sees  all  the  people  in  this  world.  He  sees  the 
wicked  thoughts  in  their  hearts,  as  well  as  their 
wicked  looks.  This  great  God  spoke  to  wicked 
Cain,  and  said,  "  Why  are  you  angry  ?  Why 
do  you  look  displeased  ?" 

It  was  very  kind  in  the  great  God  to  speak 
to  this  sinful  man,  but  Cain  would  not  mind, 
he  went  on  in  his  wickedness. 

Sometimes  a  kind  teacher  goes  up  to  a 
naughty  child,  and  begs  it  to  try  to  be  good, 
and  says,  "It  is  not  too  late  ;  wipe  away  your 
tears,  and  behave  as  you  ought."  But  often 
the  naughty  child  goes  on  frowning  and  pout- 
ing, till  his  teacher  is  forced  to  punish  him. 

It  was  in  this  way  Cain  behaved.  He  went 
on  feeling  angry  with  God  for  loving  Abel. 
One  day  he  was  with  Abel  all  alone,  when  a 
dreadful  thing  happened.  Perhaps  you  wonder 
that  Abel  would  be  alone  with  Cain,  but  I  sup- 
pose he  often  tried  to  persuade  his  brother  to 
be  good.  While  they  were  talking,  Cain  rose 
up  against  Abel  and  killed  him.  I  do  not 
know  how  he  killed  him,  whether  with  a  stone, 
or  a  great  stick,  but  that  is  no  matter — poor 
Abel  lay  bleeding  on  the  earth,  the  blood  ran 
into  the  ground.  Oh,  it  must  have  been  a 
dreadful  sight !     How  did  Cain   fe^l  when  he 


THE    FIRST    MURDER,  17 

saw  his  brother's  blood,  and  that  good  brother 
cold,  and  pale,  and  still,  like  a  stone  ? 

Cain  thought  he  could  hide  his  sin  from 
every  eye,  because  he  was  alone.  Bnt  he  for- 
got that  God  saw  him.  Soon  God  spoke  to 
him  ;  he  said,  "  Where  is  Abel  thy  brother  ?" 
Cain  answered,  "  I  know  not.  Am  I  my 
brother's  keeper  ?"  You  see  he  told  a  lie  to 
God.  Then  God  told  him  that  he  should  wan- 
der about  the  world.  Cain  was  not  to  live 
any  more  with  his  father  and  mother,  and  his 
brothers  and  sisters,  and  their  children.  He 
was  to  go  to  some  place  far  off,  where  he  would 
hear  of  God  no  more.  He  did  not  like  this  ; 
for  though  he  did  not  love  God,  he  was  afraid 
of  being  sent  far  away  ;  he  thought,  also,  that 
anybody  who  found  him,  would  kill  him.  But 
God  set  a  mark  upon  him,  to  show  people  that 
Cain  was  not  be  killed.  So  Cain  went  a  great 
way  off,  and  he  had  a  wife  and  children  ;  and 
he  built  a  city  for  his  grandchildren  and  great- 
grandchildren. But  was  he  happy?  Wicked 
people  cannot  be  happy.  God  let  him  live,  and 
and  gave  him  children,  but  God  did  not  love 
him. 

What  becomes  of  liars  when  they  die,  and 
what  becomes  of  murderers  ?  They  go  to 
hell!  That  is  a  horrible,  dark,  and  burning 
place,  far  off  from  Gocl.  The  devil  is  in  hell . 
he  is  the  father  of  liars  and  murderers.  Abe) 
did  not  go  to  hell  when  he  died ;  his  body  lay 
bleeding  on  the  earth,  but  his  soul  went  up  to 


18  THE    FIRST    MURDER. 

God  in  heaven.  There  he  saw  his  Saviour,  the 
Son  of  God,  who  had  promised  to  die  for  his 
sins.  Abel  was  a  sinner,  but  God  had  pardoned 
his  sins.  There  are  a  great  many  angels  in 
heaven  who  have  never  sinned,  or  done  one 
wrong  thing.  All  men,  women,  and  children, 
are  sinners ;  yet  God  will  pardon  their  sins,  if 
they  ask  him,  because  the  Son  of  God  was 
nailed  to  a  cross  of  wood  that  sinners  might 
be  pardoned. 

Abel  has  been  singing  in  heaven  a  long 
while.  He  was  the  first  who  began  to  praise 
God  for  pardoning  his  sins,  and  now  there  are 
hundreds  and  thousands  joining  in  his  songs. 

I  hope  the  child  who  reads  this  book  will  one 
day  be  praising  God  in  heaven  with  Abel,  and 
will  say,  "  Praise  him  who  loved  us,  and  wash- 
ed us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood." 

If  you-  want  to  go  to  that  happy  place,  go 
and  pray  to  God  alone,  and  say,  "  0  great 
God,  pardon  all  the  naughty  things  I  have  done, 
and  make  me  good  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  be- 
cause thy  dear  Son  died  upon  the  cross  foi 
me." 


And  canst  thou,  wilt  thou  yet  forgive, 
And  bid  my  crimes  remove  ? 
And  shall  a  pardon'd  rebel  live 
To  speak  thv  wondrous  love  l 


THE    FIRST    MURDER.  19 

Almighty; grace,  thy  healing  power, 

How  glorious,  how  divine  ; 
That  can  to  bliss  and  life  restore 

So  vile  a  heart  as  mine. 

Thy  pardoning  love,  so  free,  so  sweet* 

Dear  Saviour,  I  adore  ; 
Oh  keep  me  at  thy  sacred  feet, 

And  let  me  rove  no  more. 


HEAVEN  AND  HELL. 

There  is  beyond  the  sky, 
A  heaven  of  joy  and  love, 
And  holy  children,  when  they  die, 
Go  to  that  world  above. 

There  is  a  dreadful  hell, 
And  everlasting  pains  \ 
There  sinners  must  with  devils  dwell, 
In  darkness,  fire,  and  chains. 

Can  such  a  wretch  as  I 
Escape  this  cursed  end ; 
And  may  I  hope,  whene'er  [  die, 
1  shall  to  heaven  ascend  ? 

Then  I  for  grace  will  pray, 
While  I  have  life  and  breath 
Lest  I  should  be  cut  off  to-day, 
And  sent  to  eternal  death. 


THE  GREAT  RAIN. 

Sometimes  we  hear  it  said,  "A  boy  has  fal- 
len into  the  water,  and  is  drowned."  Perhaps 
he  was  sliding  on  the  ice,  when  it  broke,  and 
he  fell  in ;  or,  it  may  be,  he  was  walking  on  a 
plank  into  a  ship,  when  his  foot  slipped,  and 
he  went  over  ;  or,  it  may  be,  he  was  bathing, 
when  he  got  out  of  his  depth,  and  was  drown- 
ed. There  is  much  reason  to  be  afraid  of  the 
water.  How  many  ships  full  of  people  have 
sunk  into  the  great  deep,  and  been  seen  no 
more  !  Sometimes  rivers  overflow  their  banks, 
and  a  whole  town  is  laid  under  water,  and 
thousands  perish  in  a  day.  This  is  a  dread- 
ful event.  It  happened  in  a  great  city,  called 
Petersburgh,  some  years  ago. 

But  a  more  dreadful  event  happened  once. 
The  whole  world  was  drowned.  Yes,  all  the 
people  in  the  world  were  drowned,  and  all  the 
beasts  and  birds,  except  one  family,  and  a  few 
beasts  and  birds  with  them.  How  did  this 
happen  ?  Did  you  ever  hear  about  it  ?  It  is 
called  the  Flood.  It  happened  four  thousand 
years  ago.  The  world  was  full  of  people  then, 
as  it  is  now,  and  it  was  full  of  wicked  people. 


THE     GREAT    RAIN.  21 

The  great  God  who  made  the  world  cannot 
bear  wickedness  ;  he  looked  down  and  saw  the 
people  fighting,  and  stealing,  and  killing  each 
other.  At  last  he  said  he  would  drown  them 
all,  except  one  good  man,  and  his  wife  and 
children.     The  name  of  this  man  was  Noah. 

God  told  Noah  to  build  a  great  house  called 
an  ark.  It  was  to  be  built  so  that  it  could 
float  on  the  water  like  a  ship,  only  it  was  not 
to  have  a  mast  or  sails  like  a  ship.  The  ark 
was  to  be  made  of  wood,  and  covered  with 
pitch,  and  lined  with  pitch,  to  keep  out  the 
wet.  There  were  to  be  three  great  rooms  in 
the  ark,  one  above  the  other,  and  there  was  to 
be  a  window  at  the  top,  and  a  door  at  the  side. 
God  told  Noah  to  take  some  of  all  sorts  of 
beasts  and  birds  into  the  ark  wTith  him  ;  but  first 
he  was  to  get  food  for  them,  such  as  hay  for 
the  horses,  and  seed  for  the  birds. 

When  the  ark  was  finished,  God  told  Noah 
to  go  in,  and  to  take  the  beasts  and  birds  in 
with  him.  What  a  strange  sight  it  must  have 
been  to  see  the  beasts  and  birds  going  into  the 
ark !  If  God  had  not  made  them  quiet  and 
obedient,  Noah  never  could  have  brought  them 
in  ;  but.  He,  who  made  them  all,  could  easily 
teach  them  to  be  tame  and  gentle.  Noah  had 
three  sons,  and  they  had  three  wives,  so  that 
there  were  eight  people  who  went  into  the  ark. 
None  of  the  wicked  people  went  in.  Noah 
had  often  begged  them  to  repent  and  to  turn  to 
God,  but  they  had  not  minded.     They  would 


22  THE     GREAT    RAIN. 

not  believe  that  they  should  at  last  be  drown- 
ed. They  thought  that  one  day  would  be  like 
another,  and  that  no  sad  day  would  ever  come  ; 
so  they  built  houses,  and  planted  gardens,  and 
married  wives,  and  ate  and  drank,  and  never 
thought  of  God,  or  thanked  him  for  giving 
them  food  and  all  their  pleasures.  They  did 
not  wish  to  go  into  the  ark  with  Noah  ;  they 
liked  much  better  staying  in  their  fine  gardens 
and  houses. 

As  soon  as  Noah  was  in  the  ark,  God  him- 
self shut  the  door.  No  one  could  get  into  the 
ark  after  God  had  shut  the  door.  That  day  the 
rain  began  to  pour  down  from  the  sky,  and 
the  water  came  up  out  of  the  ground.  All 
that  day  it  rained,  and  the  next,  and  the  next, 
and  every  day  for  nearly  six  weeks.  Such 
rain  was  never  seen  before,  nor  ever  will  be 
seen  again.  Everybody  was  drowned,  and 
every  beast  and  bird.  If  people  climbed  to 
the  tops  of  trees,  the  water  soon  reached  them, 
and  if  they  mounted  the  high  hills,  the  wraters 
at  last  covered  them  ;  there  was  no  way  of  es- 
caping from  +he  anger  of  God.  Once  God 
would  have  neard  the  prayers  of  these  sin- 
ners, but  now  it  was  too  late — they  were  all 
drowned. 

For  nearly  a  year,  Noah  rode  in  his  ark 
upon  the  waters.  Once  he  sent  out  a  raven  to 
see  whether  the  land  was  dry,  but  the  bird  never 
came  back.  Another  time  he  sent  out  a  dove, 
and  this  sweet  bird  came  to  the  window  again, 


THE     GREAT    RAIN.  23 

and  Noah  put  out  his  hand  and  pulled  her  in. 
The  poor  little  dove  had  found  no  bough  on 
which  to  rest,  and  she  liked  to  return  to  the 
ark,  while  the  raven  chose  to  fly  about  till  the 
earth  was  dry. 

Noah  waited  one  week,  and  then  he  sent  out 
the  dove  again,  and  this  time  she  returned  with 
the  branch  of  an  olive-tree  in  her  beak ;  then 
Noah  knew  that  the  tops  of  the  trees  were  seen. 
In  another  week  he  sent  out  his  good  little 
dove  again,  and  this  time  she  came  back  no 
more.  Still  Noah  would  not  leave  the  ark  till 
God  told  him. 

At  last  God  said  to  him,  "  Go  forth  of  the 
ark,  thou,  and  thy  wife,  and  thy  sons,  and  thy 
sons'  wives  with  thee,  and  the  beasts,  and  the 
birds,  and  the  creeping  things."  Then  they 
all  went  out. 

How  fresh  and  green  the  earth  must  have 
looked  that  day!  How  glad  must  the  stag 
have  been  to  bound  once  more  in  the  forests, 
and  the  noble  horse  to  gallop  on  the  plains, 
and  the  harmless  sheep  to  lie  down  on  the 
meadows !  How  glad  must  the  eagle  have  been 
to  soar  once  more  in  the  air,  and  how  sweetly 
the  lark  must  have  sung  as  it  flew  out  of  the 
window  and  saw  again  the  bright  sun ! 

But  were  beasts  and  birds  as  glad  as  Noah  ? 
Oh,  no  ;  he  knew  who  had  saved  him  from 
dying  in  the  waters.  He  loved  God  for  his 
goodness,  and  praised  him  and  prayed  to  him  ; 
and  God  promised  he  never  again  would  drown 


24  THE     GREAT    RAW. 

the  world,  and  he  gave  him  a  sign  that  he 
would  remember  his  promise  :  that  sign  you 
have  seen — it  is  the  beautiful  rainbow  which 
shines  in  the  sky  so  often  when  the  sun  is  be- 
ginning to  shine,  and  the  showers  are  almost 
over.  That  rainbow  puts  us  in  mind  of  God's 
kindness  to  Noah. 

But  I  have  not  told  you  of  all  his  kindness. 
Did  you  ever  hear  how  he  sent  his  only  Son, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  die  for  wicked  men  ? 
Yes,  he  did  send  him,  and  Jesus  was  nailed  to 
a  great  piece  of  wood  called  a  cross.  He  died 
instead  of  you  ;  he  is  willing  to  save  you  from 
going  to  hell.  Do  you  wish  to  turn  from  all 
wicked  ways  ?  Do  you  wish  to  be  saved  as 
Noah  was  ?  A  dreadful  day  is  coming,  when 
the  wTorld  shall  be  burned  up.  There  will  be 
terrible  noise  and  scorching  heat,  but  those, 
who  love  God  as  Noah  did,  shall  be  caught  up 
and  saved  from  the  fire.  What  I  am  now 
telling  you  is  quite  true.  Do  believe  me. 
The  people  would  not  believe  Noah,  and  they 
were  drowned.  All  I  have  told  you  is  written 
in  the  Bible,  which  is  the  book  of  God. 

See  Genesis  6,  7,  8 ;  2  Pet.,  last  chapter. 

Oh  say,  shall  I  be  there, 

To  see  the  dreadful  glare, 
.     The  dreadful  sound  to  hear, 

The  dreadful  heat  to  hear, 
Of  falling  crags  and  rocks,  $f  roaring  seas, 
Of  smoking  hills,  and  flaming  earth  and  skies  * 


THE     GREAT    RAIN.  25 

Oh,  yes  !  I  shall  be  there ; 
The  graves  shall  open'd  be; 
.  All  shall  the  trumpet  hear, 
The  Judge's  face  shall  see  : 
In  vain  shall  some  upon  the  mountains  call, 
To  hide  their  heads  from  Him  who  judges  all. 
3 


THE  FIRE  ON  THE  MOUNTAIN. 

Do  you  think  any  one  ever  heard  God 
speak?  Should  you  be  frightened  if  God  were 
to  speak  from  heaven  where  he  lives  ?  Yes,  I 
know  you  would.  Once  God  spoke  to  a  great 
many  people  ;  he  spoke  in  a  very  loud  voice, 
so  that  they  could  all  hear.  Who  were  these 
people  ?  They  were  called  the  people  of  Is- 
rael ,  they  did  not  live  in  a  town  ;  they  were 
among  the  hills  ;  at  night  they  slept  in  their 
tents.  They  were  going  to  a  country  a  great 
way  off,  and  they  moved  their  tents  from  place 
to  place.  There  was  a  good  man  who  took 
care  of  them,  called  Moses.  God  was  their 
King.  How  could  these  people  get  food  every 
day  ?  for  there  were  no  shops  among  the  hiljs. 
and  there  were  no  cornfields.  God  rained 
down  bread,  called  manna,  every  morning  ;  the 
people  of  Israel  went  out  every  morning  with 
their  baskets  and  picked  up  the  little  bits  of 
nice,  sweet  bread,  and  took  it  to  their  tents  to 
eat.  How  kind  it  was  in  God  to  feed  them. 
He  is  kind  to  us,  too,  for  it  is  God  who  makes 
the  corn  grow. 

One  day  God  told  Moses  he  would  speak  to 


THE    FIRE    ON    THE     MOUNTAIN.  27 

the  people  of  Israel.  One  morning  there  was 
a  noise  of  thunder,  and  the  sound  of  a  trum- 
pet, very  loud  indeed.  The  people  heard  the 
noise  in  their  tents,  and  they  trembled,  for  they 
knew  that  God  was  coming  to  speak  to  them. 
Moses  told  the  people  to  come  out  of  their 
tents  to  see  God  ;  so  all  the  people  stood  round 
about  the  mountain.  What  a  sight  they  be- 
held !  The  Lord  had  come  down  in  fire,  and 
there  was  a  great  deal  of  smoke,  and  the 
mountain  shook.  You  never  saw  such  a  terri- 
ble sight.  There  was  also  a  dreadful  sound. 
The  noise  of  the  trumpet  grew  louder  and 
louder. 

Moses  drew  near  unto  the  thick  darkness 
where  God  was,  and  listened  to  his  words,  and 
wrote  them  down  in  a  book.  The  people  of 
Israel  saw  him  go  up  the  mountain,  till  he  was 
hid  by  the  greal  cloud  of  smoke.  All  the  time 
Moses  was  on  the  mountain,  there  was  a  great 
fire  burning  at  the  top,  and  God  was  in  that 
fire. 

You  see  how  dreadful  God  is !  He  can 
punish  wicked  people,  and  there  is  a  hell  where 
he  will  put  them  at  last.  But  God  is  very 
kind.  You  see  how  kind  he  was  to  Moses ; 
he  did  not  hurt  him  while  he  was  in  the  moun- 
tain, but  talked  to  him  as  a  man  talks  to  a 
friend.  When  Moses  came  down  from  the 
mountain,  his  face  shone  like  the  sun,  so  that 
the  people  of  Israel  could  not  bear  to  look  at 


28  THE    FIRE    ON    THE    MOUNTAIN. 

him,  he  was  so  bright;  then  Moses  put  a  veil 
over  his  face. 

Moses  wrote  the  ten  laws  upon  two  great 
pieces  of  stone.  Sometimes  they  are  copied 
out,  and  written  up  at  one  end  of  the  church. 
I  heard  of  a  thief  who  once  went  into  a 
church,  not  to  pray,  but  to  steal.  He  meant 
to  put  his  hand  into  people's  pockets,  and  take 
away  their  handkerchiefs  and  their  money. 
But  before  he  began  to  steal,  he  looked  up  and 
saw  the  ten  laws.     One  of  them  is, 

"  Thou  shalt  not  steal." 

The  thief  had  never  heard  this  law  before. 
He  felt  frightened,  and  did  not  dare  to  put  his 
hand  into  anybody's  pocket.  He  went  home, 
prayed  to  God,  read  the  Bible,  and  left  off 
stealing. 

Do  you  wish  to  keep  God's  laws  ?  You 
have  done  a  great  many  naughty  things.  God 
could  punish  you,  but  he  is  very  kind.  He 
sent  his  own  dear  Son  to  die  upon  the  cross, 
that  he  might  forgive  you  all  your  naughti- 
ness. The  Son  of  God  minded  all  the  ten 
laws,  yet  he  suffered  for  our  sins.  You  have 
not  minded  God's  laws ;  you  have  often  been 
naughty,  yet  God  will  forgive  you,  because 
his  Son,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  died  for  you. 

Here  is  a  little  prayer  for  you :  "  O  God, 
forgive  me  all  my  sins,  because  Jesus  died  for 
me." 

I  hope  you  will  soon  be  able  to  learn  the  ten 


THE    FIRE    ON    THE     MOUNTAIN.  29 

laws,  or  commandments,  and  I  hope  you  will 
try  to  mind  them.     You  may  read  about  Mo- 
ses in  the  Bible  in  Exodus  19  and  20. 
These  are  the  ten  commandments : 

I.  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me. 

II.  Thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee  any 
graven  image,  or  any  likeness  of  anything  that 
is  in  heaven  above,  or  that  is  in  the  earth  be- 
neath, or  that  is  in  the  water  under  the  earth  • 
thou  shalt  not  bow  down  thyself  to  them,  nor 
serve  them ;  for  I  the  Lord  thy  God  am  a 
jealous  God,  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers 
upon  the  children  unto  the  third  and  fourth 
generation  of  them  that  hate  me  ;  and  showing 
mercy  unto  thousands  of  them  that  love  me, 
and  keep  my  commandments. 

III.  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the 
Lord  thy  God  in  vain  :  for  the  Lord  will  not 
hold  him  guiltless  that  taketh  his  name  in  vain. 

IV.  Remember  the  Sabbath-day  to  keep  it 
holy.  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  all  thy 
work  ;  but  the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of 
the  Lord  thy  God  :  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any 
work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  thy 
man-servant,  nor  thy  maid-servant,  nor  thy 
cattle,  nor  thy  stranger  that  is  within  thy 
gates  :  for  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven 
and  earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and 
rested  the  seventh  day:  wherefore  the  Lord 
blessed  the  Sabbath-day,  and  hallowed  it. 

V.  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother ;  that 

3* 


SO  THE    FIRE    ON    THE     MOUNTAIN. 

thy  days  may  be  long  upon  the  land  which  the 
Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee. 

VI.  thou  shalt  not  kill. 

VII.  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery. 

VIII.  Thou  shalt  not  steal. 

IX.  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness  against 
thy  neighbor. 

X.  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's 
house,  thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's  wife, 
nor  his  man-servant,  nor  his  maid-servant,  nor 
his  ox,  nor  his  ass,  nor  anything  that  is  thy 
neighbor's. 

Here  are  the  Commandments  in  verse : 

1 .  Thou  shalt  have  no  more  gods  but  me ; 

2.  Before  no  idol  bow  thy  knee  ; 

3.  Take  not  the  name  of  God  in  vain ; 

4.  Nor  dare  the  Sabbath-day  profane; 

5.  Give  both  thy  parents  honor  due; 

6.  Take  heed  that  thou  no  murder  do ; 

7.  Abstain  from  words  and  deeds  unclean  ; 

8.  Nor  steal,  though  thou  art  poor  and  mean ; 

9.  Nor  make  a  wilful  lie,  nor  love  it ; 
10.  What  is  thy  neighbor's  dare  not  covet. 

THE    SUM    OR    MEANING    OF    THE    COMMANDMENTS. 

With  all  thy  soul  love  God  above, 
And  as  thyself  thy  neighbor  love. 

Dr.  Watta. 


THE  RAVENS.  . 


The  first  thing  that  children  want,  when 
they  get  up  in  the  morning,  is  their  breakfast. 
They  go  to  their  mothers,  and  say,  "  Give  me  a 
piece  of  bread,  please  mother;"  or  else  their 
kind  mothers,  even  without  being  asked,  give 
them  a  piece.  It  is  a  sad  thing  when  a  child 
ets  up  in  the  morning  and  has  no  breakfast, 
id  you  ever  go  without  your  breakfast  ?  Did 
your  mother  ever  say  to  you,  "My  child, 
I  have  no  bread  in  the  cupboard  ?"  If  she 
ever  did,  I  know  you  cried  to  hear  it,  and  I  dare 
say  she  cried  too,  fo»*  mothers  like  to  feed  their 


5 


32  THE     RAVENS. 

children,  and  they  will  often  go  without  break- 
fast that  they  may  give  their  children  more. 

Many  people  have  as  much  bread  every  day 
as  they  can  eat.  How  much  bread  it  must 
take  to  feed  so  many  people  ! 

While  we  are  sleeping  in  our  beds  there  is 
one  above  the  sky  who  is  making  the  food  to 
grow  out  of  the  earth.  It  is  God  who  makes 
the  little  seed  of  corn  grow  in  the  ground, 
and  spring  up  into  a  tall  stalk,  and  even  then 
turn  yellow,  and  bend  under  the  weight  of  the 
grain  at  the  top.  When  the  corn  is  ripe,  the 
reaper  comes  and  cuts  it  down  and  binds  it 
into  sheaves,  and  fills  the  wagon,  and  lays  it 
by  in  the  barn  ;  then  the  thresher  beats  out 
the  grain  from  the  husks.  Then  the  corn  is 
put  into  a  sack  and  carried  to  the  miller  to  grind 
into  flour  ;  then  the  flour  is  put  into  a  sack 
and  carried  to  the  baker,  and  it  is  baked  in  the 
oven  ;  when  it  is  taken  out,  it  is  fit  to  be  eaten. 
Was  it  men  wTho  made  the  bread,  or  God  ?  It 
was  God  who  made  the  corn  to  grow ;  if  God 
were  not  to  make  the  corn,  we  could  have  no 
bread  to  eat.  Sometimes  God  will  not  make 
the  corn  grow.  Why?  Because  men  are 
wicked,  and  God  is  angry  with  them. 

There  is  a  country  a  great  way  ofT  which 
is  very  hot.  One  year  God  sent  no  rain  to 
make  the  ground  soft,  so  the  corn  did  not  grow 
up.  The  people  in  that  land  wrere  very  wick- 
ed. They  bowed  down  to  images  of  wood 
and    stone,   and    prayed    to   them   and   said, 


THE     RAVENS.  S3 

"  Take  care  of  us ;  you  are  our  gods."  That 
is  very  wicked.  It  is  called  worshipping  idols. 
We  ought  to  worship  none  but  that  great  God 
whom  we  cannot  see. 

There  was  a  good  man  in  that  land  who 
loved  God.  His  name  was  Elijah.  When 
there  was  very  little  bread  God  would  not  let 
him  starve.  He  told  him  to  go  and  live  by  the 
side  of  a  certain  brook  or  pond,  and  he  said, 
"  I  have  commanded  the  ravens  to  feed  thee 
there."  What,  birds  to  feed  a  man  !  I  have 
often  heard  of  a  man  feeding  birds,  but  I  never 
heard  before  of  birds  feeding  a  man — and 
such  birds,  too,  as  ravens ;  not  gentle  birds, 
but  fierce  creatures,  ready  to  pick  out  your 
eyes  with  their  great  beaks. 

Elijah  believed  what  God  said,  and  he  went 
to  live  by  the  side  of  a  brook  or  pond,  among 
the  trees.  I  do  not  think  he  had  any  house 
there,  but  it  was  a  warm  country,  and  he  could 
sleep  out  of  doors.  He  was  quite  alone,  yet 
he  could  speak  to  his  friend  in  heaven,  I  mean 
his  God. 

Did  his  heavenly  Father  keep  his  promise  ? 
Oh,  yes.  In  the  morning  the  birds  came.  I 
cannot  tell  how  many,  but  there  were  more 
than  one.  What  did  they  bring  with  them  ? 
Pieces  of  bread  and  of  meat.  I  suppose  they 
carried  them  in  their  beaks.  God  had  sent  his 
birds  to  feed  his  dear  son  Elijah.  The  ravens 
were  the  servants  of  Elijah. 

In  the  evening  they  came  again,  and  brought 


oi  THE     RAVENS. 

Elijah  his  supper.  Every  morning  and  every 
evening  they  came  ;  they  never  missed.  His 
Father  in  heaven  never  forgot  to  feed  Elijah. 
He  gave  him  two  meals  every  day,  breakfast 
and  supper.  Most  people  have  dinner,  too, 
but  Elijah  was  content  with  what  God  gave 
him.     He  drank  nothing  but  cold  water. 

Every  day  there  was  less  and  less  water  in 
the  brook,  for  the  sun  dried  it  up,  and  there 
was  no  rain  to  fill  it  again.  At  last  all  the 
water  was  gone !  What  use  was  food  to  eat 
if  he  had  nothing  to  drink?  He  would  soon 
die  of  thirst.  But  his  God  remembered  him, 
and  told  him  to  go  to  another  place. 

How  much  care  God  took  of  Elijah.  At 
_ast  he  took  him  to  heaven  to  live  with  him. 
But  you  will  be  surprised  to  hear  that  Elijah 
never  died.  He  was  carried  up  to  heaven  by 
bright  angels  in  a  chariot  of  fire.  How  won- 
derful !  Why  was  God  so  very  kind  to  Elijah  ? 
Why  is  God  kind  to  anybody?  We  are  all 
sinners,  but  God  has  given  his  only  Son  to  (lie 
upon  the  cross  that  we-  may  not  be  sent  to 
hell.  If  you  ask  God  to  forgive  you  for  Christ's 
sake,  he  will  do  it,  for  he  loves  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ. 

When  a  famine  comes,  those  people  whom 
God  has  forgiven  need  not  be  afraid.  Here  is 
a  promise  which  God  made  them,  which  you 
will  find  in  the  Bible  : 

"Behold,  the  eye  of  the  Lord  is  upon  them 
that   fear   him,  upon  them  that  hope  in  his 


THE     RAVENS.  35 

mercy,  to  deliver  their  soul  from  death,  and 
to  keep  them  alive  in  famine." — Psalm  33:  18, 
19. 

The  history  of  Elijah   and   the   ravens   is 
written  in  I.  Kings,  chap.  17. 


God  is  in  heaven  !     Can  he  hear 

A  little  prayer  like  mine  ? 
Yes,  thoughtful  child,  thou  need'st  not  fear, 

He  listeneth  to  thine. 

God  is  in  heaven  !     Can  he  see 
When  I  am  doing  wrong  ? 
Yes,  that  he  can ;  he  looks  at  thee 
All  day  and  all  night  long. 

God  is  in  heaven  !     Would  he  know 

If  I  should  tell  a  lie? 
Yes,  though  thou  saidst  it  very  low, 

He'd  hear  it  in  the  sky. 

God  is  in  heaven!     Does  he  care — 

Does  he  provide  for  me  1 
Yes ;  all  thou  hast  to  eat  or  wear, 

'Tis  God  that  gives  it  thee. 

God  is  in  heaven  !     Can  I  go 

To  thank  him  for  his  care  ? 
Not  yet ;  but  love  him  here  below, 

And  he  will  take  thee  there. 


38  THE     RAVENS. 

God  is  in  heaven  !     May  I  pray 

To  go  there  when  I  die  ? 
Yes  ;  love  him,  seek  him,  and  one  day 

He'll  call  thee  te  the  sky. 


THE  BURNING  FIERY  FURNACE. 

There  is  a  place  in  London  called  Smith- 
field.  It  is  a  market  for  cattle.  On  market- 
day  it  is  full  of  lowing  oxen,  bleating  sheep, 
and  grunting  pigs.  Each  beast  is  shut  up  by 
itself  between  some  posts  and  wooden  bars, 
and  a  little  gate.  The  butchers  hasten  early 
to  the  spot  to  buy  beasts  for  the  slaughter. 

But  in  that  very  place  crowds  of  people 
used  once  to  come — not  to  buy  beasts,  but  to 
burn  men,  and  see  them  burned.  How  dread- 
ful !  Was  it  wicked  men  who  were  burned — 
thieves,  or  murderers  ?  No,  it  was  good  men, 
who  loved  their  Bibles,  and  would  not  pray  to 
images.  Yes,  they  were  burned.  But  I  am 
not  going  now  to  tell  you  about  the  men  who 
were  burned  at  Smithfield :  I  am  going  to  speak 
of  some  men  who  lived  at  a  great  city  called 
Babylon,  a  more  beautiful  city  than  London. 

There  was  a  great  king  in  Babylon,  and  this 
king  had  a  great  image  made — a  very  tall 
image — as  tall  as  a  church  steeple,  and  it  was 
made  of  gold.  Oh,  what  a  rich  king  he  must 
have  been,  and  what  a  fine  image  !  It  was  not 
*et  up  in  the  town,  but  in  a  great  place  called  a 
4 


38  THE     BURNING 

plain,  which  was  like  a  larcre  field  without 
hedges.  There  everybody  could  see  the  great 
image  quite  well.  The  king  desired  all  the 
lords,  and  judges,  and  captains  in  his  kingdom 
to  come  to  the  plain. 

When  the  rich  lords  were  come  together, 
they  all  stood  round  the  image.  There  was  a 
band  of  musicians  there,  with  many  kinds  of 
instruments,  the  harp  with  its  sweet  strings, 
the  flute  on  which  men  breathe  to  make  it 
sound,  and  many  other  instruments  of  which 
you  have  never  heard.  And  the  king  was 
there,  the  proud  king  who  did  what  he  pleased. 
A  man  cried  out  with  a  loud  voice,  and  told 
them  that  as  soon  as  the  music  began  to  be 
played,  everybody  must  bow  down  to  the 
golden  image  that  the  king  had  set  up  ;  and  if 
any  one  did  not  bow  down,  he  should  be 
throwri  immediately  into  a  burning  fiery  fur- 
nace. Presently  the  music  struck  up,  and  the 
people  fell  down  and  worshipped  the  golden 
image. 

Do  you  know  that  it  is  very  wicked  to  wor- 
ship images?  Yes,  we  ought  never  to  bow 
down  to  any  one  but  God,  and  he  is  in  heaven, 
and  cannot  be  seen  by  us.  The  angels  see 
him,  but  we  cannot.  God  likes  to  see  us 
kneeling  down,  and  looking  up  to  him  in  the 
heavens. 

Did  I  say  that  all  the  people  bowed  down 
to  the  golden  image  ?  Almost  all — all  but 
*hree.     Scon  some  of  the  king's  servants  came 


FIERY     FURNACE.  39 

to  him  and  said,  "0  king,  there  are  three  men 
here  who  have  not  bowed  down  to  the  image. 
Those  men  are  not  people  of  this  land  of 
Babylon — they  are  Jews."  Then  the  king 
was  in  a  great  passion,  for  wicked  people  fall 
into  a  passion  just  as  little  children  do.  Oh,  it  is 
a  horrible  thing  when  a  man  falls  into  a  passion 
and  especially  a  king.  What  mischief  he  can 
do  in  his  rage,  for  he  cannot  be  shut  up  like  a 
naughty  child.  This  king  desired  the  three 
Jews  to  be  brought  to  him.  When  they  came, 
he  spoke  very  angrily  to  them,  and  asked  if  it 
was  true  they  had  not  bowed  down  to  the 
image. 

He  told  them  that  if,  when  they  should  hear 
the  music  again,  they  did  not  fall  down  and 
worship  the  image,  they  should  be  cast  into  a 
burning  fiery  furnace,  and  that  their  God 
would  not  deliver  them  out. 

But  these  three  Jews  were  not  frightened  by 
the  king's  words.  They  said,  they  would  not 
worship  the  image,  and  their  God  was  able  to 
deliver  them  from  the  burning  fiery  furnace, 
and  he  wTould  deliver  them.  Then  the  king 
was  in  a  greater  passion  than  before.  It  wras 
terrible  to  see  his  face!  for  passion  makes  the 
face  look  very  red  and  ugly.  But  still  the 
three  Jews  were  not  afraid.  The  king  de- 
sired that  the  furnace  might  be  made  seven 
times  hotter  than  before.  This  was  foolish  in 
him,  because  a  very  hot  fire  would  kill  the  poor 
Jews  more  oxuickly  than  a  little  fire.     But  I 


40  THE    BURNING 

suppose  in  his  passion  he  forgot  that.  Then 
he  desired  the  strongest  soldiers  he  had  to  cast 
the  Jews  into  the  flames.  First  their  legs  and 
arms  were  tied  down,  that  they  might  not 
struggle  when  put  in,  and  all  their  clothes 
were  left  on,  their  cloaks,  and  their  turbans, 
and  their  stockings,  and  all.  Then  the  strong 
soldiers  took  hold  of  them  and  threw  them  into 
the  fire,  but  the  flames  were  so  fierce  that  they 
caught  hold  of  the  soldiers  and  burnt  them  up. 
What  became  of  the  poor  Jews  ?  They  fell 
down  in  the  midst  of  the  furnace.  Were  they 
alive  or  dead  ?  Such  a  fire  would  soon  turn  a 
man  black  as  a  cinder. 

The  king  came  to  look  at  the  three  Jews ; 
but  oh,  how  much  surprised  he  was  to  see  them 
walking  about  in  the  fire,  not  only  alive,  but 
loose  !  for  the  fire  had  burned  their  bands,  but 
not  their  clothes  nor  their  bodies.  How  won- 
derful !  But  there  was  one  thing  which  sur- 
prised the  king  still  more.  There  were  four 
men  walking  in  the  fire.  The  king  called  to 
his  lords  and  said,  "  Did  we  not  cast  three 
men  bound  into  the  midst  of  the  fire  ?"  They 
said,  "  True,  0  king."  Then  he  said,  "  Lo,  I 
see  four  men  loose,  walking  in  the  midst  of 
the  fire,  and  they  have  no  hurt;  and  the  form 
of  the  fourth  is  like  the  Son  of  God."  Was 
he  the  Son  of  God  ?  Oh,  yes ;  for  the  Son  oi 
God  loves  us.  Once  he  died  for  us  upon  the 
cross,  that  we  might  not  be  cast  into  hell,  and 
he  always  cares  for  his  people  when  they  are 


FIERY    FURNACE.  41 

in  trouble,  and  now  he  was  walking  in  the  fire 
with  the  three  young  Jews.  That  was  the 
reason  they  were  not  burned  ;  God  the  Father 
had  sent  down  his  Son  to  keep  them  from 
harm.  How  happy  they  were  in  the  midst  of 
the  fire!     They  felt  no  pain. 

Now  the  king  saw  that  the  God  of  the  Jews 
could  save  them,  and  he  came  near  to  the  door 
of  the  furnace — not  so  near  as  to  be  burned, 
as  his  soldiers  had  been — and  he  called  the 
three  Jews  by  their  names,  "  Ye  servants  of 
the  Most  High  God,  come  forth,  and  come 
hither."  And  they  came  out- — yes,  they  walk- 
ed out.  Then  all  the  great  lords  came  round 
them  to  see  whether  they  were  hurt,  but  there 
was  not  even  the  smell  of  fire  on  them,  not 
one  hair  was  singed — and  you  know  how 
easily  the  hair  catches  fire — and  their  clothes 
were  not  even  scorched. 

Then  the  king  began  to  praise  their  God, 
and  to  praise  tkem,  too,  for  not  worshipping 
the  image.  And  he  sent  round  to  all  the 
towns  in  his  kingdom,  and  commanded  that 
if  anybody  spoke  against  their  God,  he  should 
be  cut  in  pieces,  and  his  house  made  into  a 
heap  of  rubbish ;  for  the  king  said,  "  There  is 
no  other  God  who  can  deliver  after  this  sort." 
Neither  is  there  any  god  who  can  deliver  at 
all  except  the  true  God,  who  made  the  world, 
the  sun,  moon,  and  stars. 

Did  the  king  of  Babylon  leave  off  worship- 
"  ig   images  or  idols  ?    No ;  I  fear  he  went 
4* 


42      THE  BURNING  F  ERY  FURNACE 

on  in  his  wicked  ways  for  some  time  longer, 
till  at  last  God  made  him  like  a  beast,  and  he 
ixte  grass;  afterwards  he  was  sorry  for  his 
wickedness. 

Do  you  love  God  as  those  young  Jews  did  ? 
If  you  do,  I  count  you  a  happy  child.  There 
are  many  good  people  who  have  been 
burned  in  the  fire.  I  told  you  about  the  fires 
in  Smithfleld.  Good  people  were  burned 
there,  but  only  their  bodies — their  souls  went 
to  heaven,  to  God.  If  you  love  God,  your 
soul  will  be  happy  forever,  and  your  body  will 
be  taken  one  day  out  of  the  grave  and  made 
new  again. 

You  will  find  the  history  of  the  three  young 
Jews  in  Daniel  3. 


THE  DEN  OF  LIONS. 


VJH&B&*' 


The  lion  is  generally  called  the  king  of 
beasts.  There  is  no  beast  that  looks  so  like  a 
king  as  he  does,  for  though  the  elephant  is  much 
larger,  he  is  not  so  terrible.  With  what  a 
stately  air  the  lion  walks ;  how  proud  is  his 
look ;  what  strong  teeth  he  has  !  How  fierce 
his  eyes  seem,  glaring  in  the  midst  of  his  yel- 
low hair !  When  he  is  hungry,  how  horrible  is 
his  low  growl — it  is  like  the  rumbling  of  thun- 
der before  a  storm  !  But  when  he  is  angry 
and  utters  his  loud  roar,  all  the  beasts  of  the 
forest  tremble.  Perhaps  you  have  seen  a  lion 
in  a  den ;  you  knew  he  could  not  hurt  you, 


44  THE    DEN    OF    LIONS. 

and  therefore  you  were  not  afraid  lo  look  at 
him.  But  would  you  have  gone  into  his  den  ? 
Oh,  no,  even  if  the  lion's  mouth  had  been  tied 
up,  you  would  not  have  liked  to  be  shut  up 
with  him. 

I  am  going  to  tell  you  of  a  man  who  was 
shut  up  with  a  lion — not  with  one  lion  only, 
but  with  many  lions — with  hungry  lions  with 
open  mouths,  in  the  night,  alone,  at-the  bottom 
of  a  deep  den  under  ground.     Why  was  he 
shut  up  there  ?     I  will  tell  you  why.     He  had 
done  nothing  wicked.     He  was  a  very  good 
man,  who   loved  God,  but  there  were   some 
wicked  men  who   hated   him.     There  was  a 
great  king  who  was  kind  to  the  good  man,  and 
the  wicked  men  did  not  like  that.     They  want- 
ed the  king  to  be  fond  of  them,  but  the  king 
loved  the  good  man  best.     The  good  man's 
name  was  Daniel.     And  why  did  the  king  love 
Daniel  best  ?     Because  Daniel  did  the  king's 
business  best;  he  wrote  letters  for  him,   and 
paid  money  for  him  ;  he  never  told   lies,  nor 
cheated,  nor  was  idle,  nor  careless.     So  the 
king  trusted  him  with  everything,  and  made 
him  a  great  lord.     Then  the  wicked  lords  hated 
Daniel,  only  because  the  king  loved  him  best. 
They  were  envious.     What  made  Daniel  so 
good  ?     It  was  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  that 
made  him  good.     Daniel  used  to  pray  to  God 
three  times  every  day  to  make  him  good,  and 
keep  him  from  telling  lies,  and  stealing,  and 
all  sorts  of  wickedness.     That  is  the  way  to 


THE    DEN    OF    LIONS.  45 

be  good,  to  pray  to  God,  for  we  all  have  wick- 
ed hearts.  But  God  can  make  our  hearts 
good  ;  he  sent  his  dear  Son  Jesus  to  die  for  us 
that  we  might  not  go  to  hell,  and  he  gives  us 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  make  us  fit  to  go  to  heaven, 
fit  to  be  in  that  sweet  place  with  the  holy 
angels. 

The  wicked  lords  knew  that  Daniel  prayed 
to  God.  As  for  them,  they  prayed  to  idols  ot 
wood  and  stone.  All  the  people  in  that  coun- 
try prayed  to  idols,  except  Daniel  and  his 
friends.  It  is  no  use  to  pray  to  images  or  idols, 
for  they  cannot  hear  us  when  we  call. 

The  wicked  lords  wanted  to  get  good  Dan- 
iel into  disgrace  with  the  king,  so  they  made  a 
very  sly  plan.  They  went  to  the  king  and 
asked  him  to  make  a  law  that  no  one  should 
pray  to  any  god,  or  to  anybody  for  thirty  days 
except  to  him,  and  to  command  that,  if  any- 
body disobeyed  this  law,  he  should  be  cast 
into  the  den  of  lions.  The  king  said  he  would 
make  this  law.  Oh,  he  did  not  know  what  a 
cruel  plan  the  lords  had  settled  between  them. 

Daniel  soon  heard  of  this  new  law.  Would 
he  leave  off  praying  to  God  for  thirty  days  ? 
Oh  no,  not  for  one  day.  He  still  went  into 
his  room  when  the  windows  were  open,  and 
knelt  down  and  prayed,  morning,  and  noon, 
and  evening.  The  wicked  lords  heard  that 
Daniel  went  on  praying,  and  they  went  to  the 
king,  and  told  him  that  Daniel,  though  he  had 


46  THE    DEN    OF    LIONS. 

heard  of  this  law,  which  could  not  be  changed, 
still  prayed  three  times  a-day. 

How  sorry  the  king  was  when  he  heard  this 
sad  news !  He  loved  Daniel ;  he  could  not 
bear  to  have  him  cast  into  the  den.  But  what 
could  he  do  ?  It  was  not  yet  time  to  cast  him 
in ;  the  evening  was  the  time ;  and  till  the 
evening  came,  and  the  sun  had  set,  the  king 
tried  to  think  of  some  way  of  saving  Daniel. 
But  he  could  think  of  no  way.  As  soon  as  it 
was  dark,  the  lords  said,  "  O  king,  you  cannot 
change  the  law."  The  king  knew  that,  and  he 
sent  for  Daniel  and  commanded  him  to  be  cast 
into  the  den;  but  before  he  was  put  in,  the 
king  said  to  him,  "  Thy  God,  whom  thou 
servest  continually,  he  will  deliver  thee." 
This  was  the  only  comfort  the  king  had;  he 
hoped  that  the  God  of  Daniel  would  save  him 
from  the  lions. 

After  Daniel  had  been  thrown  in,  a  great 
stone  was  laid  on  the  top  of  the  den,  and  a  seal 
was  put  upon  it,  that  nobody  might  come  in 
the  night  and  take  Daniel  out,  and  the  king 
sealed  the  stone  with  his  own  seal.  What  a 
miserable  evening  the  king  passed  !  He  could 
eat  no  supper.  Usually  sweet  music  was 
played  to  him  in  the  evening,  but  he  desired 
that  the  musicians  should  not  play  :  and  when 
he  went  to  bed,  he  could  not  sleep.  Very  early 
in  the  morning  he  got  up.  He  went  in  haste 
to  the  den,  and  cried  out  in  a  most  sorrowful 
voice,    "O   Daniel,   is   thv   God,  whom   thou 


THE    DEN    OF    LIONS,  47 

servest  continually,-  able  to  deliver  thee  from 
the  lions  ?"  Oh,  how  the  king  did  listen  for 
the  answer !  What  if  he  should  hear  nothing 
but  the  growls  of  the  beasts  !  But  he  heard  a 
voice  say,  "  O  king,  live  for  ever.  My  God 
hath  sent  his  angel,  and  hath  shut  the  lions' 
mouths,  and  they  have  not  hurt  me,  because  I 
have  done  no  hurt."  Oh,  how  glad  the  king 
was !  Immediately  he  commanded  the  ser- 
vants to  take  Daniel  out  of  the  den.  When 
he  came  up,  people  looked  to  see  whether  the 
lions  had  bitten  him,  or  scratched  him,  or 
bruised  him.  But  no,  there  was  not  the  least  hurt 
found  upon  him.  Some  men  would  have  been 
killed  by  the  fright,  if  they  had  been  shut  up 
with  lions ;  but  Daniel  had  trusted  in  his  God. 
He  knew  his  God  loved  him,  and  would  save 
him.  What  did  the  wicked  lords  say  when 
they  saw  Daniel  come  up  out  of  the  den  ?  They 
had  not  much  time  to  speak,  for  the  king  com- 
manded them  to  be  cast  into  the  den,  and  their 
wives  and  children  with  them.  It  was  cruel 
to  cast  the  poor  wives  in,  and  the  little  chil- 
dren ;  but  as  for  those  wicked  men,  they  well 
deserved  to  be  eaten  up.  Now  it  was  seen 
how  hungry  the  lions  were,  for  before  the  men 
could  get  to  the  bottom  of  the  den,  the  lions 
sprung  up  and  seized  hold  of  them,  and  with 
their  strong  teeth  broke  and  ground  their  bones 
to  pieces.  So,  though  the  lions  had  gone 
without  their  supper,  they  had  a  good  break- 
fast the  next  morning.     God  punishes  wicked 


48  THE    DEN    OF    LIONS. 

people  when  the)*  have  tried  to  hurt  good  peo- 
ple, and  he  often  lets  them  fall  into  the  very 
same  trouble  that  they  wanted  to  get  the  good 
people  in. 

There  is  a  place  called  hell,  much  more  hor- 
rible than  the  lion's  den.  It  is  filled,  not  with 
lions,  but  with  devils,  and  all  wicked  people 
will  be  cast  there  some  day,  and  there  they 
will  stay  forever.  Are  you,  my  child,  afraid 
of  going  there  ?  I  wish  you  to  be  afraid,  be- 
cause I  want  you  to  ask  God  not  to  send  you 
there.  You  may  pray  to  God  as  well  as  Dan- 
iel j  God  will  hear  you  as  well  as  him.  Dan- 
iel prayed  to  God  when  he  was  a  child,  and  he 
found  that  God  took  care  of  him.  He  was 
only  a  slave  when  he  was  young,  and  he  was 
far  away  from  his  father  and  his  mother ;  but 
he  looked  up  to  God,  and  asked  him  to  be  his 
friend. 

His  history  is  to  be  found  in  the  Bible. 
See  Daniel  6. 


THE 

HEAVENLY  BABE  AND  ITS  MOTHER. 

Did  you  ever  see  an  angel  ?  I  know  you 
never  did ;  neither  did  your  father  ever  see  an 
angel,  nor  your  mother,  nor  your  grandfather 
— none  of  these  ever  saw  an  angel.  But  some 
people  have  seen  angels.  Angels  are  very 
bright  creatures ;  they  live  in  heaven  with  God, 
and  they  shine  like  the  light.  They  know 
about  us  ;  they  know  that  there  is  a  world  fall 
of  men  and  women  and  children.  They  pity 
us.  Why  ?  Because  we  are  sinners.  We 
do  wrong  things ;  we  sin  against  God.  Angels 
are  not  sinners.  Though  they  have  lived  so 
many,  many  years  with  God,  they  have  never 
done  one  wrong  thing,  and  they  never  will. 

Angels  will  always  be  happy.  But  shall  we  ? 
We  shall  die  one  day.  Shall  we  be  happy  after 
we  are  dead  ?  Will  God  let  sinners  live  with 
him  ?  My  dear  child,  did  you  ever  think  to 
yourself,  "  Shall  I  go  to  heaven  when  I  die  ?" 
There  is  a  dreadful  place  called  hell,  and  there 
are  many  sinners  there  burning  in  the  flames. 
You  would  not  like  to  go  there.  I  hope  you 
will  not. 


50  THE    HEAVENLY    BABE 

I  will  now  tell  you  what  God  has  done  for  us 
miserable  sinners.  A  -long  while  ago  he 
told  one  of  his  bright  angels  to  go  on  a  mes- 
sage. He  sent  him  from  heaven,  to  a  woman 
named  Mary.  The  angel's  name  was  Gabriel. 
What  had  Gabriel  to  say  to  Mary?  Wait, 
and  you  shall  hear.  When  the  angel  came  into 
the  place  where  Mary  was,  he  told  her  the 
Lord  was  pleased  with  her,  and  was  going  to 
do  her  a  great  favor.  Was  Mary  delighted  to 
hear  this  ?  No,  she  was  frightened ;  she  could 
not  think  what  the  angel  meant.  Then  the 
angel  said,  "Fear  not,  Mary,  for  thou  hast 
found  favor  with  God."  Then  the  angel  told 
her  that  she  should  soon  have  a  babe  ;  and  that 
he  should  be  the  Son  of  God;  and  that  his 
name  should  be  "Jesus." 

This  was  a  very  wonderful  message.  Why 
was  the  Son  of  God  to  be  a  babe  ?  God  his 
father  sent  him  to  be  a  babe,  that  he  might 
grow  to  be  a  man,  and  then  suffer  instead  of 
us  sinners.  How  good  it  was  in  God  to  send 
his  only  Son  to  save  us  from  going  to  hell ! 

Mary  believed  what  Gabriel  told  her.  Soon 
the  sftigel  went  away.  At  last  the  babe  was 
born.  Where  do  you  think  it  was  born  ?  You 
will  be  surprised  to  hear — it  was  born  in  a 
stable !  Mary  had  taken  a  long  journey,  and 
when  she  came  to  the  end,  she  went  to  the  inn, 
but  there  was  no  room  for  her  there.  There 
were  so  many  travellers  at  the  inn,  that  Mary 
was  obliged  to  go  into  the  stable.     Where  the 


AND    ITS    MOTHER.  51 

oxen  and  the  asses  fed  that  night,  her  babe  was 
born.  Mary  wrapped  him  in  long  clothes,  and 
laid  him  in  the  manger.  What  a  place  for  the 
Son  of  God  ! 

The  children  of  the  queen  lie  in  beautiful 
cradles,  hung  with  muslin,  and  silk,  and  satin. 
But  this  babe  was  the  Son  of  the  King  of  kings, 
and  he  lay  in  a  manger.  The  people  in  the 
inn  did  not  know  that  the  Son  of  God  was  in 
the  stable,  but  Mary  knew  who  her  babe  was. 
She  called  him  her  God  and  her  Saviour ;  she 
knew  he  had  come  down  from  heaven  to  save 
her  and  many  people  from  hell. 

And  did  he  suffer  for  our  sins  when  he  grew 
up  to  be  a  man  ?  Oh,  yes.  He  was  nailed  to 
a  cross  of  wood.  The  nails  went  through  his 
hands  and  through  his  feet,  and  his  blood  was 
spilled  upon  the  ground.  Mary,  his  mother, 
stood  near  the  cross.  Oh,  how  unhappy  she 
felt  to  see  her  son  dying.  He  felt  sorry  for  her, 
and  told  his  disciple  John  to  take  care  of  his 
dear  mother. 

After  Jesus  was  dead  he  was  buried,  and  in 
three  days  he  was  made  alive  again.  Mary 
saw  him  once  more.  Oh,  how  happy  she  was 
then !  Very  soon  Jesus  went  up  to  heaven  in 
a  cloud  back  to  his  Father.  Mary  still  staid  in 
this  world.  Then  she  prayed  to  her  son  Jesus, 
and  thanked  him  for  saving  her  soul.  At  last 
she  died  and  went  to  heaven,  to  live  there  with 
God  the  Father  and  God  the  Son,  and  there 


52  THE    HEAVENLY    BABE. 

We  ought  never  to  pray  to  any  one  but  God 
Mary  was  a  sinner  once.  Jesus  saved  her. 
Mary  cannot  save  us.  Only  Jesus  can  save 
sinners. 

You  will  like  to  see  Mary  in  heaven.  Bless- 
ed was  she  among  women.  Of  all  the  woman 
who  ever  lived  she  was  the  most  blessed,  01 
happy.  Jesus  loved  his  mother  very  much, 
but  he  will  love  you  as  much  if  you  wish  to 
please  God.  He  knows  who  wishes  to  please 
him.  He  has  said,  "  Whosoever  shall  do  the 
will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  the  same 
is  my  brother,  and  sister,  and  mother/' 

Jesus  has  only  one  Father — God — but  he 
has  many  brothers,  and  sisters,  and  mothers. 
There  are  a  great  many  wicked  people  in  the 
world  who  swear,  and  steal,  and  tell  lies  ;  but 
there  are  some  who  love  God,  and  pray  to  him, 
and  believe  in  him,  and  try  to  please  him. 
Jesus  counts  them  his  brothers,  and  sisters,  and 
mothers.  Would  you  like  to  be  the  brother 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  ?  Would  you  like  to  be 
his  child  ?  What  a  dreadful  thing  it  is  to  be 
the  child  of  the  devil. 


THE  HEAVENLY  BABE.  53 


A  MOTHER'S  SONG  TO  HER  BABE  IN  THE 
CRADLE. 

Soft  and  easy  is  thy  cradle — 
Coarse  and  hard  thy  Saviour  lay, 

When  his  birthplace  was  a  stable, 
And  his  softest  bed  was  hay. 

Blessed  babe  !  What  glorious  features, 

Spotless,  fair,  divinely  bright ! 
Must  he  dwell  with  brutal  creatures  % 

How  could  angels  bear  the  sight? 

Was  there  nothing  but  a  manger, 

Thankless  sinners  could  afford, 
To  receive  the  heavenly  stranger  ? 

Did  they  thus  affront  the  Lord  % 

Soft,  my  child,  I  did  not  chide  thee, 

Though  my  song  might  sound  too  hard  % 

Tis  thy  mother  sits  beside  thee, 
And  her  arm  shall  be  thy  guard. 


5* 


THE  HAPPY  NIGHT. 

In  the  night  very  dreadful  things  often  nap- 
pen.  Sometimes  a  fire  breaks  out  in  the  night. 
1  remember  having  heard  of  a  fire  in  a  street, 
and  of  a  house  being  burned  to  the  ground  ; 
four  little  boys  and  their  mother  were  all  smo- 
thered in  the  smoke,  and  the  father  only  and 
one  child  escaped. 

Sometimes  thieves  and  murderers  break 
into  a  house  in  the  night.  It  is  well  to  Jock 
the  doors  fast,  and  to  bar  the  windows ;  but 
even  then  we  are  not  safe,  unless  God  take 
care  of  us.  But  I  am  not  going  to  tell  you  of 
anything  horrible,  but  of  a  very  delightful 
night — yes,  of  the  happiest  night  which  has 
ever  been  since  the  world  was  made. 

Some  shepherds  were  in  a  field  taking  care 
of  their  flocks.  It  was  night,  and  they  were 
watching  to  prevent  the  wolves,  and  bears,  and 
lions  coming  to  devour  their  pretty  lambs  and 
harmless  sheep.  These  shepherds  were  good 
men ;  they  loved  God.  When  wicked  men 
are  sitting  up  together,  they  often  amuse  them- 
selves with  singing  wicked  songs,  and  with 
drinking  and  swearing,  and  they  often  end  by 


THE    HAPPY    NIGHT.  55 

quarrelling  and  fighting.  But  these  shepherds 
were  different  men  from  those,  and  had  differ- 
ent ways  from  theirs ;  they  were  men  who 
loved  singing  hymns,  and  talking  about  God 
and  heaven. 

Avery  wonderful  thing  happened  that  night ; 
such  a  thing  as  had  never  happened  to  them  be- 
fore— an  angel  came !  What  a  glorious  crea- 
ture an  angel  is !  I  never  saw  one,  but  I  know 
that  angels  are  bright  like  the  sun,  and  their 
clothes  are  white  like  snow,  and  they  are  so 
good,  so  gentle,  and  so  kind. 

Yet  when  the  shepherds  saw  this  angel,  they 
were  very  much  frightened.  But  the  ange 
told  them  not  to  be  afraid,  "  Fear  not,"  he  said ; 
"  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy.  Unto 
you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city  of  David,  a 
Saviour,  who  is  Christ  the  Lord ;  and  ye  shaJJ 
find  him  lying  in  a  manger."  This  was  good 
news  indeed.  A  long  while  before,  God  had 
promised  to  send  his  own  Son  down  from 
heaven  to  be  a  babe.  And  why  ?  That  he 
might  die  instead  of  us  wicked  creatures,  and 
save  us  from  going  to  hell.  These  shepherds 
had  often  heard  of  God's  kind  promise,  and 
now  the  angel  told  them  this  babe  was  really 
born.  Yes,  the  babe  that  was  to  save  them 
from  never-ending  pains. 

When  the  angel  had  done  speaking,  the  most 
beautiful  sight  was  seen.  A  number  of  angels 
suddenly  appeared  !  How  bright  they  must 
have  shone  in  thaf  d?,rk  night !     To  see  angels 


56  THE    HAPPY    NIGHT. 

is  charming,  but  what  must  it  be  to  hear  them 
sing !  These  angels  began  to  sing.  How 
sweet  the  sound  must  have  been  !  It  is  sweet 
to  hear  children  sing ;  it  is  sweet  to  hear  them 
sing,  "  That  will  be  joyful,"  or  "  Glory,  glory ;" 
but  what  is  children's  singing  compared  to  the 
singing  of  angels  !  What  is  the  cawing  of  a 
rock  compared  to  the  warbling  of  a  nightingale, 
and  what  is  the  singing  of  a  sinful  child  com- 
pared to  the  singing  of  a  glorious  angel ! 

I  can  tell  you  the  very  words  these  angels 
sang,  but  I  am  not  sure  that  you  will  under- 
stand them.  This  was  their  song :  Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good- 
will towards  men." 

It  was  because  the  Son  of  God  was  born 
that  they  sang  this  song — Jesus,  the  Son  of 
God :  he  came  to  bring  glory,  and  peace,  and 
good-will,  and  all  happiness  into  this  wicked 
world. 

The  angels  did  not  stay  very  long.  How 
sorry  the  shepherds  must  have  been  when  the 
song  was  over,  and  the  angels  were  gone  back 
into  heaven.  Could  they  ever  forget  that  song  ? 
I  think  not.  Well,  I  hope  we  may  hear  angels 
sing  one  day,  and  that  we  may  sing  with  them. 
Now  we  could  not  sing  an  angel's  song,  but  one 
day  we  shall  be  able,  if  our  sins  are  forgiven. 

See  the  good  shepherds  in  the  field  alone 
with  their  sheep. — What  did  they  talk  of  now  ? 
Of  that  sweet  babe  who  was  lying  in  a  manger. 
They  knew  he  was  in  the  next  town,  a  very 


THE    HAPPY    NIGHT.  57 

ittle  way  off,  and  they  said  one  to  another, 
"  Let  us  go  and  see  him."  So  they  left  their 
sheep,  very  quickly  indeed.  There  were  other 
babes  in  Bethlehem,  but  most  babes  lie  in  soft 
cradles,  or  on  their  mother's  pillow ;  but  there- 
was  no  cradle  and  no  bed  for  this  babe,  only  a 
manger  full  of  straw  or  hay.  The  shepherds 
knew  in  which  stable  the  babe  was,  and  they 
wTent  in.  And  what  did  they  see  ?  There, 
in  the  midst  of  the  oxen,  and  the  cows,  and  the 
asses,  they  saw  a  babe,  and  near  him  was  his 
mother,  a  poor  woman,  named  Mary.  His 
Father  was  in  heaven,  for  God  was  his  Father ; 
but  there  was  a  good  man  in  the  stable  named 
Joseph,  and  he  was  the  husband  of  Mary.  All 
kind  people  like  to  look  on  a  little  helpless  in- 
fant. Do  not  you  like  to  look  at  a  babe,  and 
to  take  it  in  your  arms  ?  But  there  never  was 
such  a  babe  as  this.  Though  he  was  so  weak 
and  small,  he  was  the  Son  of  God,  and  had 
made  the  world,  and  the  moon,  and  the  stars. 

How  did  the  shepherds  feel  as  they  looked 
at  him  ?  They  knew  he  loved  them,  and  had 
come  down  from  heaven  to  save  them.  0  how 
they  loved  that  babe  ! 

Did  they  take  him  in  their  arms  ?  Did  they 
kiss  his  sweet  forehead  ?  I  cannot  tell  you, 
for  it  is  not  written  in  the  Bible.  The  shep- 
herds did  not  know  all  the  pain  that  tender 
babe  would  have  to  bear  when  he  was  grown 
to  be  a  man.  Those  little  hands  with  fingers 
folded  up,  afterwards  had  nails  thrust  through 


58  THE    HAPPY    NIGHT. 

them  ;  and  those  tender  feet,  which  had  never 
touched  the  ground,  were  afterwards  fastened 
to  the  cross  of  wood.  Oh,  to  have  looked  upon 
that  babe,  and  to  have  thought  of  all  he  would 
suffer,  might  have  made  the  hardest  heart  feel 
sorry !  But  that  babe  is  happy  now — Oh,  very 
happy !  After  dying  upon  the  cross  he  was 
made  alive  again,  and  he  went  up  into  heaven  ; 
and  there  he  is  now,  and  the  shepherds  are 
with  him  there,  singing  the  angel's  song.  And 
Jesus  will  one  day  come  to  this  world  again, 
shining  brighter  than  angels  do,  and  the  shep- 
herds will  come  with  him,  and  all  people  who 
have  ever  loved  him. 

If  you  grow  to  be  a  man,  I  hope  you  will  be 
like  one  of  those  good  shepherds.  Perhaps 
you  will  not  have  to  take  care  of  sheep.  I  can- 
not tell  what  you  will  do,  whether  you  will 
make  things,  or  sell  them,  or  work  in  the  fields, 
or  go  to  sea ;  but  whatever  you  do,  I  hope  you 
will  be  a  good  man  and  love  God.  Those 
shepherds  often  talked  about  Jesus;  they  told 
every  body  about  the  babe  in  the  manger,  and 
about  the  angels  in  the  sky,  and  they  praised 
God  with  all  their  hearts  for  having  let  them 
see  and  hear  such  wonderful  things.  You 
have  heard  about  the  babe  in  the  manger, 
though  you  have  not  seen  him.  There  are 
many  children  who  have  never  heard  about 
him.  God  has  been  very  kind  to  you  in  letting 
you  hear  about  him.  I  hope  you  love  Jesus. 
Some  children  do.     If  they  were  to  die,  the 


THE    HAPPY    NIGHT.  59 

angels  would  come  and  take  their  souls  to  be 
with  Jesus  in  heaven. 

This  history  is  written  in  Luke  2:  8-20. 


See  the  faithful  shepherds  round  him, 

Telling  wonders  from  the  sky ; 
Where  they  sought  him,  there  they  found  him. 

Wich  his  vrgin  mother  by. 


THE  OLD  MAN  AND  THE  BABE. 

Most  children  love  little  babies.  A  babe  of 
six  weeks  old  is  very  little  indeed  ;  it  cannot 
sit  up  ;  it  lies  in  its  mother's  arms,  and  its  head 
rests  upon  her  hand  ;  it  can  open  its  eyes  and 
look  about,  and  it  is  pleased  with  the  light  of 
the  candle;  but  it  does  not  know  its  mother 
from  a  stranger,  and  it  will  go  to  any  body 
without  being  frightened  ;  it  never  laughs,  but 
it  oftens  cries.  Perhaps  some  of  you,  dear 
children,  have  got  a  little  baby  brother  or  sis- 
ter at  home  whose  cradle  you  rock.  I  hope 
you  take  great  care  of  the  baby  when  your 
mother  lets  you  nurse  it. 

I  am  going  to  tell  you  now  about  the 
sweetest  babe  of  six  weeks  old  that  was 
ever  seen  in  this  world.  Who  was  this 
babe?  Was  he  a  prince,  the  son  of  a  king  or 
of  a  queen  ?  He  was  not  called  a  prince, 
yet  he  was  greater  than  any  prince  in  this 
world — yes,  greater  even  than  the  prince  of 
Wales,  the  son  of  the  queen  of  England. 

Who  was  this  babe  ?  He  was  the  Son  of 
God.  He  came  down  from  heaven  to  be  a 
babe.     And  why  ?  that  he  might  grow  to  be  a 


AND    THE    BABE.  61 

man,  and  then  die  upon  the  cross  for  our  sins. 
Oh,  how  kind  to  come  down  to  die  for  us,  that 
we  might  not  be  punished!  But  I  am  not 
going  to  tell  you  now  about  his  dying,  but  about 
his  being  a  babe. 

The  name  of  his  mother  was  Mary — she 
was  a  good  woman ;  his  Father  was  God. 
Mary  had  a  husband  called  Joseph,  and  he  was 
very  kind  to  this  sweet  babe.  The  babe  was 
born  in  a  stable,  but  when  he  was  nearly  six 
weeks  old,  his  mother  took  him  a  little  journey ; 
she  went  to  a  town  eight  miles  off,  called  Je- 
rusalem. She  went  into  a  beautiful  place 
there  called  the  temple,  where  people  often 
prayed  to  God,  as  they  do  in  church.  She  took 
her  little  babe  in  her  arms  when  she  went  to 
the  temple.  Joseph  was  with  her.  Why  did 
Mary  take  her  babe  to  the  temple  ?  To  give 
him  to  God,  because  he  was  her  first  child. 
And  she  brought  with  her  two  young  pigeons 
to  give  them  to  God.  They  were  to  be  killed 
and  burnt,  but  the  babe  was  not  to  be  killed. 

When  Mary  was  in  the  temple,  an  old  man. 
came  in.  Who  was  this  old  -man  ?  He  was, 
a  very  good  man,  and  his  name  was  Simeon. 
When  men  are  old,  their  hair  turns  white  like, 
silver,  and  their  backs  are  bent,  and  their  knees 
are  weak,  and  they  cannot  walk  fast ;  but  good 
old  men  are  very  happy.  They  know  the}7 
shall  soon  die,  and  they  are  not  afraid,  for  they 
wish  to  be  with  God.  Simeon  knew  he  should 
soon  die,  but  God  had  promised  him  that  before 
6 


02  THE    OLD    MAN 

he  died  he  should  see  the  Son  of  God.  When 
Mary  brought  her  babe  into  the  temple,  God 
told  Simeon  to  go  in  and  look  at  his  Son. 
How  glad  Simeon  was  to  go !  As  soon  as  he 
saw  Mary,  he  knew  who  she  was,  and  who  her 
babe  was.  He  took  the  babe  in  his  arms,  and 
began  to  pray  to  God.  Would  you  not  like  to 
have  seen  that  good  old  man  praying  to  God, 
and  holding  that  lovely  infant  in  his  arms  ? 
You  cannot  see  him,  but  you  may  hear  what 
he  said,  he  told  God  that  he  was  now  ready  to 
die,  because  he  had  seen  the  Saviour  of  all 
people. 

Mary  and  Joseph,  who  were  standing  by, 
were  much  surprised  to  hear  what  the  old  man 
said.  Simeon  then  began  to  talk  to  Mary, 
and  told  her  a  great  deal  more  about  her  child. 
While  he  was  speaking  an  old  woman  came  in. 
I  believe  she  was  more  than  a  hundred  years 
old,  and  she  had  been  a  widow  a  very  long 
while  indeed.  She  lived  close  to  the  temple, 
and.  was  very  fond  of  being  there,  and  of  pray- 
ing to  God.  Her  name  was  Anna.  When 
she  saw  the  babe,  she  began  to  praise  God  for 
having  sent  his  Son  from  heaven  to  save  peo- 
ple from  going  to  hell.  There  were  other  peo- 
ple in  the  temple  who  heard  what  Anna  said, 
and  who  were  glad  to  think  that  the  Saviour 
was  come. 

Would  you  like  to  see  that  babe  ?  You  can 
never  see  the  babe,  but  you  may  see  the  Son 
of  God      The  babe  grew  to  be  a  man,  and 


AND    THE    BABE.  63 

when  he  was  a  man  he  was  nailed  to  a  cross 
He  died,  but  God  made  him  alive  again.  His 
name  is  Jesus ;  he  is  in  heaven  now  with  his 
Father,  and  he  will  come  one  day  into  thir 
world,  and  then  you  will  see  him.  Dead  peo- 
ple will  see  him  then,  and  living  people,  too. 
Every  body  will  see  him,  but  every  body  will 
not  be  glad  to  see  him,  for  he  will  be  angry  with 
wicked  people.  But,  if  you  ask  him,  he  wik 
forgive  you  all  the  naughty  things  you  have 
done,  for  he  died  that  he  might  forgive  sins. 
Ask — ask  him  very  often  to  forgive  you.  Ask 
him  every  day.  Kneel  down  when  you  are 
alone,  and  say,  "  Forgive  me,  Oh,  forgive  me ! 
Have  mercy  on  a  sinful  child !" 

Jesus  has  forgiven  a  great  many  people. 
He  likes  to  forgive,  he  is  so  kind.  When  he 
comes  again,  he  will  speak  sweetly  to  all  people 
whom  he  has  forgiven.  He  will  say,  "  Come 
ye  blessed  of  my  Father !"  How  dreadful  it 
would  be  to  hear  him  say,  "Go  away."  How 
sweet  to  ■  hear  him  say,  "  Come  !"  I  hope  he 
will  say  "Come"  to  you.  If  you  love  him,  I 
know  he  will. 

lou  may  read  the  history  of  Simeon  in 
I  »ike  2  :  22-38. 


i4  THE    BABE. 


Little  chi.i,  do  you  love  Jesus  % 

Oh,  how  lie  loves  ! 

Do  you  wish  to  go  to  heaven  ? 

Oh,  how  he  loves ! 

First  of  all  ask  his  forgiveness, 

With  your  heart,  although  quite  helpless  ; 

Jesus  little  children  blesses — 

Oh,  how  he  loves  I 

He  will  listen  to  your  prayer ; 

Oh,  how  he  loves  J 
Feed  you  by  his  tender  care  ! 

Oh,  how  he  loves! 
He  became  a  child  just  like  you ; 
Here  he  suffer1  d  to  redeem  you, 
And  at  last  he  died  to  save  you — 

Oh,  how  he  loves  ! 

Trust  him,  he  will  ne'er  forget  you  . 

Oh,  how  he  loves  I 
No,  he  never  will  forsake  you  : 

Oh,  how  he  lcves  ! 
None  from  his  strong  arm  can  pluck  you ; 
His  almighty  arm  protects  you  ; 
Loving  once,  he  ever  loves  you — 

Oh,  how  he  loves  I 


THE  KING  OF  THE  JEWS. 

The  Jews  are  scattered  over  the  world. 
Their  own  land  is  a  great  way  off,  and  it  is  full 
of  strangers.  There  is  a  city  in  it  called  Je- 
rusalem. Some  people  say  it  is  the  most  beau- 
tiful city  in  the  world,  but  the  people  in  it  are 
very  poor.  Once  it  was  full  of  Jews ;  once 
there  were  kings  there,  who  were  called  kings 
of  the  Jews. 

I  will  tell  you  about  one  of  these  kings.  He 
was  a  very  wicked  man  ;  his  name  was  Herod ; 
he  lived  at  Jerusalem.  One  day  some  men 
came  to  his  city,  and  said,  "Where  is  he 
that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews  ?  for  we  have 
seen  his  star  in  the  east,  and  are  come  to  wor- 
ship him."  But  was  not  Herod  king  of  the  Jews  ? 
Yes.  he  was ;  but  a  babe  had  been  born  whom 
God  sent  to  be  King  of  the  Jews.  This  babe 
was  the  Son  of  God.  Very  few  people  knew 
anything  about  him.  But  God  had  made  a  star 
shine  in  the  sky  to  show  these  men  where  his 
Son  was  born.  These  men  were  wTise  men  ; 
they  had  learned  a  great  deal.  They  were 
good  men  also,  for  they  loved  the  Son  of  God, 
and  wanted  to  see  him.  They  had  come  a 
6* 


G6  THE    KING    OF    THE    JEWS. 

great  way  on  purpose  to  find  him.  They  knew 
he  was^  somewhere  near  Jerusalem,  but  they 
did  not  know  exactly  where,  so  they  asked 
every  body  "  Where  is  the  King  of  the  Jews  ?" 

King  Herod  heard  that  some  wise  men  had 
come  from  a  long  way  off,  and  were  asking  for 
the  King  of  the  Jews.  Herod  was  very  sorry 
to  hear  this ;  he  did  not  like  hearing  of  another 
king.  He  did  not  know  where  the  King  of  the 
Jews  was,  but  he  asked  some  of  his  friends  to 
look  in  the  Bible  to  see  where  God  had  said  he 
should  be  born.  They  looked,  and  they  found 
that  God  had  written  in  his  book  (which  is  the 
Bible),  that  the  King  of  the  Jews  should  be 
born  in  a  place  called  Bethlehem.  Now  Beth- 
lehem is  a  village  near  Jerusalem. 

Herod  was  glad  to  find  out  where  this  king 
was  born,  and  he  called  the  wise  men  who  had 
come  to  Jerusalem,  and  he  told  them  that  this 
little  king  was  born  at  Bethlehem.  He  said  to 
them,  "  Go,  and  search  diligently  for  the  young 
child;  and  when  ye  have  found  him,  bring  me 
word  again,  that  I  may  come  and  worship  him 
also."  But  did  Herod  wish  to  worship  this  lit- 
tle king?  Oh,  no;  he  wanted  to  kill  him;  but 
he  pretended  to  love  him,  that  he  might  find 
out  which  child  he  was. 

The  wise  men  believed  what  Herod  said, 
and  they  meant  to  come  back  and  tell  him. 
They  went  to  Bethlehem  ;  they  had  only  seven 
miles  to  go  But  how  could  they  find  out  the 
little  king  ?     God  made  the  star  to  shine  again 


THE    KING    OF    THE   JEWS.  67 

in  the  sky ;  the  star  moved  along,  and  showed 
the  wise  men  the  way,  and  at  last  it  stopped 
just  over  a  house  in  Bethlehem.  Oh,  how  very 
glad  the  wise  men  were  to  see  the  star  again ! 
They  went  into  the  house,  and  they  found 
there  a  young  chi/d  about  a  year  old.  He  was 
the  King  of  the  Jews ;  he  was  the  Son  of  God, 
and  had  come  down  from  God  his  Father 
in  heaven.  And  why?  That  when  he 
was  a  man  he  might  die  upon  the  cross  to 
save  us  from  going  to  hell.  Oh,  how  kind  he 
was ! 

This  glorious  babe  had  a  mother.  Her 
name  was'Mary.  She  took  care  of  him :  she 
dressed  him  in  long  clothes,  she  put  him  to 
sleep,  she  nursed  him  and  loved  him.  Oh  how 
she  loved  him,  for  she  knew  he  was  the  Son  of 
God.  The  wise  men  saw  her  in  the  house  with 
the  little  king.  What  was  this  king's  name  ? 
It  was  Jesus.  The  first  thing  the  wise  men 
did  was  to  worship  him.  That  was  right ; 
they  knew  he  was  the  Son  of  God.  All  the 
angels  in  heaven  worship  him.  Do  you  wor- 
ship him?  These  wise  men  were  rich;  they 
had  brought  beautiful  things  with  them  from 
their  own  land :  they  made  presents  to  the  king : 
they  opened  their  boxes,  or  bags,  or  baskets, 
and  they  took  out  the  most  precious  thing  in 
the  world — gold;  they  also  took  out  sweet- 
smelling  gums,  whicn  flow  from  trees,  and  are 
called  frankincense  and  myrrh. 

Mary  was  very  popr  but  God  had  sent  b*f 


C8  THE    KING    OF     THE    JEWS. 

some  gold.  The  wise  men  remembered  what 
Herod  had  said.  They  meant  to  go  back  and 
tell  him  they  had  found  the  child.  But  they 
had  a  dream,  and  in  that  dream  God  told  them 
not  to  go  back  to  Herod  ;  so  they  wrent  back 
to  their  own  country,  and  they  did  not  go 
back  to  Jerusalem.  Happy  wise  men!  you 
saw  the  Lord  of  glory  !  Could  they  ever  for- 
get that  sweet,  that  lovely  babe  ?  But  he  is 
more  lovely  now.  He  is  in  heaven,  on  the 
throne  with  God,  and  he  will  come  down 
here  some  day,  shining  brighter  than  the  sun. 

But  what  did  wicked  Herod  do  when  he 
found  that  the  wise  men  did  not  come  back  ? 
He  was  very  angry.  He  was  a  very  passion- 
ate man,  and  when  he  was  angry  every  body 
might  well  be  frightened.  Herod  said,  "I 
will  kill  all  the  babes  in  Bethlehem,  then  I  shall 
be  sure  to  kill  this  young  king  among  the  rest." 
What  a  cruel  man  this  Herod  was  !  He  sent 
his  soldiers  to  Bethlehem  to  kill  all  the  little 
children  under  two  years  old.  It  was  of  no 
use  for  mothers  to  hide  their  babes ;  the  sol- 
diers would  find  them  out.  It  was  of  no  use 
for  mothers  to  hold  their  babes  fast,  the  sol- 
diers would  pull  them  away.  Oh,  what  screams, 
what  bitter  sobs  must  have  been  heard  that 
day !  Mothers  love  all  their  children,  but  the 
babe  is  so  helpless,  that  they  think  more  about 
it  thdii  about  the  rest.  If  you  have  a  little 
baby  brother  or  sister,  you  know  that  your 


THE    KING    OF    THE     JEWS.  69 

mother  loves  it  very  much  indeed.  Does 
she  not  call  it  many  pretty  names?  Does 
she  not  often  take  it  in  her  arms,  and  kiss  it? 
Do  you  not  pity  the  poor  mothers  of  Beth- 
lehem ? 

And  did  Mary  lose  her  babe,  and  was  the 
Son  of  God  killed  ?  Oh,  no.  Before  Herod 
sent  his  men,  God  had  sent  an  angel  to  Beth- 
lehem. He  came  one  night  to  Joseph ;  this 
good  man  was  Mary's  husband,  and  he  loved 
the  Son  of  God.  The  angel  said  to  Joseph, 
"  Arise,  and  take  the  young  child  and  his 
mother,  and  flee  unto  Egypt,  and  be  thou  there 
until  I  bring  thee  word ;  for  Herod  will  seek 
the  young  child  to  destroy  him."  So  Joseph 
got  up  that  night,  and  told  Mary  to  get  up,  and 
to  bring  the  babe  with  her ;  and  they  all  sat 
out  that  night  upon  their  long  journey. 

Herod  did  not  know  that  the  little  king  was 
gone  away,  and  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  kill 
all  the  babes  in  Bethlehem.  God  knows  what 
wicked  men  will  do.  If  a  wicked  boy  were  to 
intend  to  hurt  you,  God  could  get  you  out  of 
his  way.  No  one  could  kill  the  Son  of  God  till 
he  chose  to  die. 

At  last  he  was  nailed  to  a  cross  and  died, 
but  he  was  soon  alive  again,  and  he  will  never 
die  any  more.  He  is  the  King  of  the  Jews, 
and  he  is  the  King  of  all  people.  Pray  to  him, 
and  he  will  hear  you ;  praise  him,  and  he  will 
be  pleased;  trust  him,  and  he  will  save   you; 


70  THE    KING    OF    THE     JEWS. 

obey  him,   and  he  will  remember  you  when 
he  comes  again. 

You  may  read  this  history  in  Matthew  2 : 
1-16. 


WORDS    WRITTEN    ON    AN    INFANT  S    TOMB. 

It  died,  for  Adam  sinned ; 
It  lives,  for  Jesus  died. 


THE  HEAVENLY  BOY 

When  you  walk  in  the  streets  of  a  great 
city,  you  see  many  boys  playing  about.  Some 
of  these  are  wicked  boys,  who  swear,  and 
steal,  and  tell  lies.  But  there  are  some  boys 
who  fear  God,  and  who  speak  the  truth; 
yet  even  they  sometimes  do  wrong.  I  never 
heard  of  more  than  one  boy  who  always  did 
right.  This  boy  came  down  from  heaven  ;  he 
was  the  Son  of  God,  and  he  is  called  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  The  people  in  the  town  where 
he  lived  did  not  know  that  he  was  the  Lord. 
They  knew  his  name  was  Jesus,  but  they  did  not 
call  him  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  was  a  poor  boy, 
and  lived  w'th  a  man  called  Joseph,  who  was 
a  carpenter.  Joseph,  was  not  his  father.  God 
was  his  Father.  He  had  a  mother  named 
Mary  ;  she  was  a  very  good  woman ;  she  knew 
her  little  son  came  down  from  heaven.  N<? 
mother  ever  had  such  a  son  as  the  Lord  Jesus. 
He  always  minded  what  she  said ;  he  always 
behaved  well  to  her,  and  treated  her  kindly. 

One  day  he  went  a  long  journey  with  his 
mother  and  with  Joseph;  he  was  then  twelve 
years  old  ;  he  did  not  go  in  a  coach  or  a  wagon 


72  THE    HEAVENLY    BOY. 

he  walked,  or,  if  he  rode  at  all,  it  was  upon  an 
ass.  He  came  at  last  to  a  great  city  called 
Jerusalem.  What  did  he  go  there  for?  It 
was  to  pray  to  God.  There  was  a  great  build- 
ing there,  made  of  marble,  very  large  and  beau- 
tiful, where  people  worshipped  God.  Its  name 
was  the  Temple. 

In  the  spring  all  the  men  in  the  land  went 
up  to  Jerusalem.  When  they  got  there  they 
used  to  meet  together,  a  few  at  a  time,  and  eat 
a  roasted  lamb,  and  sing  hymns,  and  pray  to 
God.  It  was  pleasant  to  go  to  this  feast. 
Very  often  the  fathers  took  their  children  with 
them,  and  sometimes  the  mothers  went  too. 

When  Jesus  was  twelve  years  old,  he  went 
up  to  Jerusalem  with  Joseph  and  Mary,  and 
with  their  neighbors  who  lived  in  their  town. 
He  stayed  there  about  a  week.  At  the  end  of 
that  time,  Joseph  and  Mary  sat  out  with  their 
neighbors  to  return  home  to  their  own  town. 
Did  Jesus  go  home  with  them  ?  No,  he  did 
not ;  but  Joseph  and  Mary  did  not  miss  him  at 
first;  they  thought  he  was  with  some  of  the 
neighbors,  walking  on  a  little  before,  or 
coming  after  them.  But  when  the  evening 
came  they  did  not  see  him,  and  they  began 
to  be  frightened.  They  asked  all  their 
neighbors  where  he  was,  but  nobody  knew. 
What  could  they  do  ?  They  said  they  would 
turn  back  and  look  for  him  at  Jerusalem. 
They  did  not  find  him  on  the  road.  At  last 
they  came  to   Jerusalem ;  they  looked  every 


THE    HEAVEWLY    BOY.  73 

where  for  Jesus.  At  last  they  found  him. 
Where  was  he?  In  the  temple.  What  was 
he  doing  there  ?     He  was  learning. 

There  were  some  wise  men  in  Jerusalem 
who  used  to  teach  the  boys  about  God  and 
about  the  Bible.  Jesus  was  at  the  temple 
earning  of  these  wise  men.  When  they 
asked  him  questions,  he  gave  very  good  an- 
swers. Then  he  asked  them  questions.  Tea- 
chers like  to  hear  children  ask  questions  ;  it 
showTs  that  they  wish  to  understand,  and  to 
grow  wise. 

Should  you  not  like  to  know  what  questions 
Jesus  asked  ?  I  should ;  but  I  do  not  know. 
But  this  I  do  know,  that  both  his  questions  and 
his  answers  were  so  sensible,  that  his  teachers 
were  quite  surprised.  They  had  never  taught 
such  a  child  before.  There  never  was  such  a 
child  before,  for  this  was  the  only  child  who 
came  down  from  heaven. 

Joseph  and  Mary  were  very  much  surprised 
to  find  Jesus  iv  the  temple.  His  mother  said 
to  him,  "  Son,  y»  by  hast  thou  thus  dealt  with 
us  ?  behold,  thy  father  and  I  have  sought  thee 
sorrowing."  T)  en  Jesus  answered,  "  How  is 
it  that  ye  sough)  .ne  ?  Do  you  not  know  that 
I  must  be  about  •  ay  Father's  business  ?" 

Whom  did  he  call  his  father?  Not  Joseph, 
but  God  in  heaven — he  was  his  Father.  Jesus 
came  down  from  heaven  to  please  his  Father. 
All  the  time  he  was  in  the  world  he  never  for- 
got his  Father  in  heaven.  He  was  always 
7 


74  THE    HEAVENLY    BOY. 

thinking  of  him,  ani  very  often  he  was  speak- 
ing of  him.  But  wicked  people  did  not  like 
to  hear  him  talk  of  his  heavenly  Father,  and 
at  last  they  killed  him. 

It  was  not  till  he  had  grown  to  be  a  man 
that  he  <\ied.  He  let  the  wicked  people  kill 
him,  because  he  wanted  to  save  us  from  going 
to  hell.  We  are  sinners,  and  deserve  to  go  to 
hell,  out  Jesus  suffered  for  us,  that  we  might 
be  pardoned.  When  he  was  a  little  boy,  he 
knew  that  one  day  he  should  be  nailed  to  a 
cross.  Other  boys  do  not  know  what  will 
happen  to  them  when  they  grow  up,  but  Jesus 
knew  everything.  Many  boys  think  that  they 
shall  be  very  happy  as  soon  as  they  are  men, 
that  they  shall  do  what  they  like,  and  not  mind 
any  body.  But  Jesus  thought  only  about 
minding  his  heavenly  Father.  When  he  was 
a  child,  he  minded  his  mother  too,  but  he  al- 
ways minded  his  heavenly  Father. 

Oh,  how  much  I  wish  you  would  try  to  be 
like  him.  Jesus  would  be  pleased  if  he  saw 
you  wishing  to  be  such  a  child  as  he  was. 
When  you  are  going  to  do  wicked  things,  ask 
^yourself  this  question,  "  Did  Jesus  behave  in 
this  way  when  he  was  a  boy?"  Then  ask 
God  to  make  you  like  Jesus.  You  need  n<:t 
speak  loud  for  God  to  hear.  He  hears  yc  in 
thoughts.  You  cannot  always  pray  out  loud, 
nut  you  can  pray  in  your  heart  at  any  time. 
When  you  are  alone,  speak  to  God,  for  he  likes 
to  hear  you  speak. 


THE    HEAVENLY    SOY.  75 


EARLY  PIETY. 

Jzjcjs,  who  reigns  above  the  sky, 

And  keeps  the  world  in  awe, 
Was  once  a  child  as  young  as  I, 

And  kept  his  Father's  law. 

At  twelve  years  old,  he  talk'd  with  men, 
(The  Jews  all  wond'ring  stand  :) 

Yet  he  obeyed  his  mother  then, 
And  came  at  her  command. 

Children  a  sweet  hosanna  eung, 
And  blest  their  Saviour's  name ; 

They  gave  him  honor  with  their  tongue, 
Whilst  scribes  and  priests  blaspheme. 

Samuel,  the  child  was  wean'd  and  brought 

To  wait  upon  the  Lord ; 
Y'oung  Timothy  betimes  was  taught 

To  know  his  holy  *>ordr 

Then  why  should  I  so  long  delay. 
What  others  learned  so  soon  ? 

I  would  not  pass  another  day, 
Without  this  wort  regmi. 


THE  HEAVENLY  DOVK 

Were  you  ever  in  a  church  ?  Do  you  re- 
member the  first  time  you  went  to  church  or 
chapel  ?  You  saw  a  man  standing  in  a  pulpit 
in  the  midst  of  the  church ;  you  heard  him 
speak  loud,  so  that  everybody  could  hear  him 
— that  man  was  the  preacher.  Did  you  hear 
anything  he  said  ?  Do  you  remember  any- 
thing ?  I  know  what  he  talked  about.  He 
spoke  of  God.  It  is  to  tell  people  about  God, 
that  preachers  go  up  the  stairs  and  stand  in 
the  pulpit.  I  am  now  going  to  tell  you  of  a 
preacher  who  did  not  stand  in  a  pulpit ;  he  did 
not  preach' in  a  church  or  a  chapel,  but  out  of 
doors  ;  he  did  not  preach  in  the  streets,  but  in 
the  country,  far  away  among  the  green  hills. 
His  name  was  John  ;  he  did  not  wear  a  white 
gown,  nor  a  black  gown,  as  many  preachers 
do,  but  he  dressed  in  very  coarse  clothes,  and 
had  a  leathern  band  round  his  waist.  He 
lived  in  a  place  called  a  desert,  where  there 
were  no  houses,  and  he  ate  the  honey  that  he 
found  in  the  holes  of  the  rocks. 

A  great  many  people  came  to  hear  John. 
What  did  John  say  to  them  ?     He  said,  "  Re- 


THE    HEAVENLY    DOVE.  77 

pent."  "What  does  that  mean  ?  It  means, 
"  Turn  f:om  your  wicked  ways."  John  told 
the  people  that  God  hated  sin — all  kinds  of 
sin,  stealing,  lying,  swearing,  and  fighting. 
Some  of  the  people  wished  to  turn  from  their 
sins,  and  to  please  God.  Then  John  took  them 
to  the  edge  of  the  water,  and  told  them  to  go 
in.  Why  did  he  tell  them  to  go  in  ?  Not  to 
make  their  bodies  clean,  but  to  show  how  God 
cleansed  their  hearts  from  sin.  This  was 
called  "  baptizing.'5  John  baptized  everybody 
who  was  sorry  for  their  sins. 

Would  you  like  to  have  been  baptized  ? 
Are  you  sorry  for  your  sins  ?  God  can  make 
your  heart  clean. 

Among  the  people  who  came  to  be  baptized, 
at  last  there  came  one  who  had  never  done 
anything  wrong.  Who  could  that  be  ?  All 
men  have  done  wTrong  many  times,  but  this 
man  was  the  Son  of  God  ;  he  had  come  down 
from  heaven,  that  he  might  save  us  from  going 
to  hell.     His  name  was  Jesus. 

After  Jesus  had  been  baptized  in  the  water 
just  as  he  was  coming  out  of  it,  and  as  he  was 
praying  to  his  Father,  a  very  wonderful  thing 
happened — the  heavens  w7ere  opened.  How 
bright  it  would  be,  if  we  could  see  the  place 
where  God  the  Father  lives  beyond  the  sky ! 
This  is  what  John  saw.  Out  of  the  heavens 
there  came  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.  He  came 
down  like  a  dove,  and  rested  upon  Jesus.  Oh, 
what  a  lovely  sight !     Then  a  voice  was  heard 


73  THE    HEAVENLY    DOVE. 

■ — it  was  the  voice  of  God  the  Father  in  hea- 
ven :  he  said,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in 
whom  I  am  well  pleased." 

Would  you  not  like  to  have  been  there  to 
have  seen  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  Spirit  of 
God,  and  to  have  heard  the  voice  of  God  ?  1 
hope  you  will  one  day  see  that  glorious  sight, 
and  hear  that  heavenly  voice.  Jesus  is  in 
heaven  now  with  God  his  Father,  and  he  is 
still  a  man,  as  well  as  the  Son  of  God.  He 
died  for  sinners  like  you  and  me  upon  the 
cross,  and  he  was  buried  ;  but  he  rose  out  of 
his  grave,  and  went  up  to  heaven. 

And  now  he  asks  God  to  forgive  sinners. 
Does  God  hear  what  his  Son  says  ?  Oh,  yes  ; 
you  know  the  Father  loves  his  Son,  for  he 
said,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son."  Only  ask 
Jesus  to  pray  for  you,  and  I  know  he  will  do 
it,  and  your  sins  shall  be  forgiven. 

Perhaps  you  feel,  "  I  am  a  wicked  child ;  I 
am  not  fit  to  live  with  God."  Well,  I  am  glad 
if  you  feel  you  are  a  sinner ;  but  do  not  be  afraid, 
Jesus  can  wash  away  all  your  sins,  and  make 
your  heart  clean.  You  know  how  clean 
very  dirty  things  are  made  by  the  water. 
Jesus  is  better  than  water,  he  can  wash  all 
stains  out  of  the  heart.  I  know  you  wish  to 
be  happy,  you  may  be  happy. 

There  are  horrible  beasts  called  lions,  tigers, 
wolves,  and  bears.  Perhaps  you  have  seen 
them  shut  up  in  cages.  Wicked  people  are 
like  wild  beasts.     There  is  a  gentle  bird  called 


THE    HEAVENLY    I OVE.  79 

a  dove.  It  is  a  sweet,  harmless  creature. 
The  Holy  Spirit  of  God  is  like  this  dove.  II 
this  Holy  Spirit  were  to  come  into  your  heart, 
you  would  grow  gentle  like  a  dove,  and  then 
you  would  be  happy.  But  will  the  Holy  Spirit 
come  ?  Yes,  Jesus  has  promised  to  send  him 
into  the  hearts  of  all  people  who  ask  him. 
What  a  happy  child  you  might  be,  if  your  sins 
were  forgiven,  if  your  heart  was  made  clean, 
and  if  the  heavenly  Dove  was  with  you. 
Should  you  not  be  happy  ?  Oh,  yes,  even 
now  you  would  be  happy.  But  you  would  be 
happier  still  one  day,  for  one  day  you  would 
live  with  God. 

I  know  not  where  your  home  is — whether  in 
a  garret,  or  a  kitchen,  or  a  prett}  cottage,  or  a 
neat  house.  But  if  your  home  were  a  prison, 
you  would  be  happy  with  the  heavenly  Dove, 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  your  heart ;  and  if  you  lived 
in  a  palace,  if  you  were  wicked,  you  would  be 
unhappy,  for  God  has  said,  "  There  is  no  peace 
to  the  wicked/' 

Read  this  history  in  Matt,  3  :  13-17  ;  Mark 
1:  9-11  ;  Luke  3  :  21,  22. 


80  THE   HEAVENLY   DOVE. 


A  CHILD-S  PRAYER. 

Lcrd,  teach  a  little  child  to  pray, 
Thy  grace  betimes  impart, 

And  grant  thy  Holy  Spirit  may 
Eenew  my  infant  heart. 

A  sinful  creature  I  was  born, 
And  from  my  birth  have  stray'd 

I  must  be  wretched  and  forlorn 
Without  thy  mercy's  aid. 

But  Christ  can  all  my  sins  forgive, 
And  wash  away  their  stain, 

And  fit  my  soul  with  him  to  live, 
And  in  his  kingdom  reign. 

To  him  let  children  come, 
For  he  hath  said  they  may  ; 

His  bosom  then  shall  be  their  home  j 
Their  tears  he'll  wipe  away. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  WILDERNESS. 

What  is  that  large  house  with  hisfh  walls  all 
round  ?  It  is  big  enough  for  a  palace  for  the 
queen,  but  it  is  not  pretty  enough ;  there  are 
no  pleasant  gardens  near,  no  balconies  nor  ve- 
randahs, nor  carved  pillars.  Is  it  a  hospital 
for  sick  people,  or  a  school  for  orphan  children  ? 
No,  for  I  see  little  windows  with  bars  before 
them,  and  great  iron  spikes  longer  than  your 
arm  at  the  top  of  the  wTalls.  Is  it  a  prison  ? 
Yes.  How  many  wicked  people  there  must 
be  to  fill  so  large  a  place,  and  how  unhappy 
they  must  be  shut  up  there  !  Why  did  they 
steal  ?  Did  they  not  know  that  if  they  wrere 
found  out  they  would  be  sent  to  prison  ?  Yes, 
they  knew  it ;  but  there  is  a  person  who  goes 
about  teaching  men  to  be  wicked.  Who  is 
that?  It  is  not  a  person  you  can  see.  No, 
he  has  not  a  body  like  yours,  but  he  has  a 
mind,  and  a  wicked  mind.  His  name  is  Satan, 
and  he  is  often  called  the  devil.  He  is  very 
miserable  and  he  tries  to  make  everybody 
miserable.  He  often  puts  it  into  the  mind  of 
a  boy  to  wish  to  steal.  When  the  boy  sees 
nice  rosy  apples  hanging  on  a  tree,  the  devil 


82  CHRIST    IN    THE    WILDERNESS. 

says,  "  Take  them,  they  are  so  nice  ;  nobody 
will  see  you." 

But  we  ought  not  to  please  the  devil,  but  to 
please  God.  It  is  God  who  made  us,  and  we 
ought  to  obey  him.  When  the  devil  wants 
you  to  be  naughty,  then  say  to  God,  "  O  keep 
me  from  sin."  Satan  is  very  bold.  He  tries 
to  make  everybody  wicked.  He  tries  to 
make  ladies  and  gentlemen  proud  and  un- 
kind, and  he  wrishes  little  beggars  to  swear,  and 
to  fight,  and  to  tell  lies. 

Is  there  anybody  who  has  never  done  what 
Satan  wished?  No,  everybody  has  done 
many  wrong  things.  Have  not  you  ?  Have 
you  never  told  a  lie  ?  Have  you  never  been 
cross,  and  rude,  and  pert. 

But  there  once  was  a  man  in  this  world  who 
never  did  one  wrong  thing.  This  was  the 
Son  of  God.  He  came  down  to  live  for  a  lit- 
tle while,  and  then  to  die ;  his  name  was  Jesus  : 
he  knew  we  were  wicked,  and  must  be  pun- 
ished, so  he  said  he  would  be  punished,  in- 
stead of  us.  But  he  was  not  wicked  like  us. 
Satan  wanted  to  make  him  wicked. 

Once  Jesus  went  into  a  place  quite  alone  ;  it 
was  called  a  wilderness.  No  body  lived  there  ; 
there  were  no  cornfields  nor  fruit  trees,  no 
sheep  or  cows,  only  lions  and  bears,  who  howl- 
ed and  roared ;  and  there  were  stones  upon  the 
ground,  not  flowers — and  deep  pits,  but  no 
rivers,  nor  running  brooks — and  stinging  scor- 
pions and  biting  serpents.     Jesus  was  a  long 


CHRIST    IX    THE    WILDERNESS.  &S 

while  in  this  horrible  place  quite  alone,  and  ai' 
the  time  he  ate  no  bread  and  drank  no  water. 
He  was  there  forty  days  without  eating  or 
drinking  anything.  You  would  die  very  soon, 
if  you  had  nothing  to  eat:  you  would  not  live 
four  days,  perhaps — you  would  certainly  die  in 
seven  days.  But  Jesus  lived  forty  days  with- 
out food.  It  was  God,  his  Father,  who  kept 
him  alive. 

At  last  Jesus  was  very  hungry,  and  then  the 
devil  came  to  him.  And  did  he  dare  to  speak 
to  the  Son  of  God  ?  Oh,  yes.  I  told  you  he 
is  very  bold.  He  asked  him  why  he  did  not 
make  the  stones  into  bread.  Jesus  could  make 
stones  into  bread,  but  he  would  not  because  it 
was  not  the  will  of  his  Father.  So,  though  he 
was  very  hungry,  he  would  not  make  the  stones 
into  bread. 

The  devil  then  tried  another  plan.  He  took 
Jesus  to  the  top  of  a  very  high  place.  Have 
you  ever  been  to  the  top  of  a  church  ?  It  was 
to  such  a  high  place  that  Satan  took  Jesus. 
Then  he  asked  him  to  throw  himself  down 
from  the  top;  and  told  him  that  God  would 
tell  his  angels  to  keep  him  from  being  hurt. 
But  it  is  very  wicked  to  throw  ourselves  down 
from  high  places,  and  Jesus  would  not  do  it. 
Then  the  devil  took  him  to  the  top  of  a  very 
high  mountain. 

Were  you  ever  at  the  top  of  a  high  moun- 
tain ?  There  are  some  mountains  five  miles 
high,  and  it  would  take  you  two  days  to  climb 


84  CHRIST    IN    THE    WILDERNESS. 

up  to  the  top;  but  I  do  not  think  a  child  like 

you  could  get  up  at  all.     Jesus  did  not  climb  up 

this  mountain,  Satan  took  him  there  all  at  once. 

Jesus  let  Satan  take  him  there.     When  you 

are  at  the  top  of  a  high  mountain  it  is  very 

fine  to  look  all  round,  and  to  see  the  fields  and 

the  towns  a  great  way  underneath.     But  no 

one  ever  saw  so  many  beautiful  sights  as  Jesus 

saw  from  the  top  of  this  mountain.     He 'saw 

all  the  most  beautiful  things  in  the  world,  such  as 

grand  houses  and  sweet  gardens,  and  armies 

of  soldiers,  and  ships  with  flags,  and  carriages 

with  horses,  and  tables  covered  with  gold  and 

silver  cups,  and  thrones  of  ivory  where  kings 

sit,  and  crowns  of  jewels  which  kings  wear. 

Then  the  devil  told  Jesus  that  he  would  give 

him  all  these  things,  for  they  were  all  his,  and 

he  gave  them  to  whom  he  would.     Was  that 

true  ?     Oh,  no  ;  the  devil  tells  lies — everything 

belongs  to  God,  for  everything  was  made  by 

him.     Then  Satan  promised  Jesus  to  give  him 

all  these  grand  things,  if  he  would  kneel  down 

and  worship  him.    Would  Jesus  do  that  ?     No, 

he  would  worship  no  one  but  God  his  Father. 

It  is  very  wicked  to  bow  down  to  images,  or 

to  pictures,  or  to  pray  to  any  body  but  God. 

When   the  devil   found    lie    could   not   make 

Jesus  do  one  wicked  thing  he  went  away.    But 

Jesus  was  very  weary — God  his  Father  knew 

that,  and  he  sent  his  angels  to  feed  him.     Oh, 

now  pleasant  it  must  be  to  be  fed  by  angels! 

—those  kind  and  bright  creatures  who  live 


CHRIST    IN    THE     WILDERNESS.  SO 

with  God.     It  was  much  better  to  be  fed  by 
angels  than  to  turn  the  stones  into  bread. 

How  glad  I  am  that  Jesus  did  not  do  what 
Satan  asked  !  If  Jesus  had  been  wicked  like 
us,  he  could  not  have  saved  us  from  going  to 
hell  to  be  with  the  devil ;  but  now  he  can.  Do 
you  want  to  be  saved  ?  Would  you  like  to 
live  witl^  Jesus  ?  I  know  you  would  be  very 
miserable  in  hell.  Now  is  the  time  to  ask  God 
to  save  you.  God  wishes  to  save  you,  Jesus 
wishes  to  save  you,  but  the  devil  wants  to  tor- 
ment you.  If  you  do  what  the  devil  bids,  you 
will  go  to  hell  What  can  you  do  ?  Ask  God 
to  save  you. 
8 


THE  HEAVENLY  LAMB. 

Did  you  ever  spend  a  happy  day  ?  Perhaps 
you  will  say,  "I  have  spent  a  great  many  hap- 
py days."  What  made  those  days  so  hp/ppy  ? 
Was  it  that  you  went  into  the  country  to  play 
on  the  green  grass ;  or  was  it  that  you  saw 
some  fine  sights;  or  was  it  that  you  had  a 
new  book;  or  was  it  that  you  saw  again 
your  kind  grandmother,  or  your  eldest  sister,  or 
your  brother  who  had  been  absent  ?  I  do  not 
know  what  made  you  happy  on  your  happy 
days.  I  am  going  to  tell  you  of  a  happy  day 
which  two  men  spent — I  think  you  will  say, 
"  It  must  have  been  a  happy  day." 

Once  there  was  a  good  man  who  preached 
to  a  great  many  people.  He  did  not  wear  a 
black  silk  gown  as  some  preachers  do,  but  only 
coarse  clothes;  he  did  not  preach  in  a  pulpit, 
but  under  a  tree,  or  by  the  water-side.  His 
name  was  John  ;  there  were  some  men  who 
liked  to  be  with  him,  and  these  men  were  call- 
ed his  disciples.  Once  he  was  standing  in  the 
country  with  two  of  his  disciples,  when  he 
saw  a  man  walking  along  a  little  way  off. 
When  John  siw  mis  man  he  looked  at  him 
and  then  said    to   his   disciples,  "Behold   the 


THE    HEAVENLY     LAMB.  87 

Lamb  of  God."  What  did  John  mean  ?  Was 
it  a  lamb  he  saw?  No,  it  was  a  man.  Why 
did  he  call  him  a  lamb  ?  I  will  tell  you  why. 
That  man  was  God  as  well  as  man ;  he  was 
the  Son  of  God,  and  he  was  come  down  from 
heaven  to  die — yes,  to  die  for  our  sins.  God 
his  Father  sent  him  down  to  die  for  us,  that 
we  might  not  go  to  hell,  and  be  punished  for- 
ever and  ever.  The  Son  of  God  was  like  a 
sweet  and  gentle  lamb,  and  wTas  willing  to  die 
for  us,  though  he  had  done  no  sin.  How  much 
pleased  John  was  to  see  him  !  John  loved 
him,  and  he  wished  his  disciples  to  love  him  too. 

One  of  those  two  disciples  was  called  An- 
drew. I  do  not  know  the  name  of  the  other. 
If  you  had  been  Andrew,  what  would  you 
have  done  when  you  heard  John  say,  "  Behold 
the  Lamb  of  God  ?  I  think  I  hear  you  answer, 
"I  would  have  gone  after  that  gentle  Lamb." 
That  is  what  Andrew  did.  The  two  disciples 
went  after  the  Son  of  God.  His  name  was 
Jesus.  While  they  were  walking  behind  him, 
Jesus  turned  and  said  to  them,  "  What  seek 
ye  ?"  How  kind  it  was  in  the  Son  of  God  to 
speak  to  these  poor  men !  They  answered, 
"  Master,  where  dwellest  thou  ?"  Jesus  said, 
"Come  and  see."  Was  not  this  kind?  The 
two  men  went  to  the  house  where  Jesus 
lived.  Did  he  ask  them  to  come  in  ?  Yes  he 
did,  and  he  let  them  stay  with  him  all  the  rest 
of  the  day. 

Must  not  that  have  been  a  happy  day?     It 


88  THE    HEAVENLY     LAMB. 

was  a  day  spent  with  the  Son  of  God.  You 
never  spent  such  a  day  as  that.  Yet  Jesus 
could  make  you  happy  every  day,  for  he  can 
come  into  your  heart.  Should  you  not  like  to 
see  the  house  where  Jesus  lived  when  he  was 
in  this  world  !  I  cannot  show  that,  but  I  can 
tell  you  where  Jesus  is  now.  He  is  in  heaven. 
If  you  wish  to  see  him,  ask  him  to  take  you 
there  when  you  die.  He  is  very  kind,  and 
hears  children  when  they  pray  to  him. 

I  have  a  little  more  to  tell  you  about  An- 
drew. He  loved  Jesus  so  much,  that  he  want- 
ed his  brother  to  know  him  too.  He  had  a 
brother  called  Simon,  and  he  said  to  him, 
"  We  have  found  the  Christ/5  It  was  Jesus 
that  he  meant ;  he  called  him  the  Christ.  Si- 
mon did  not  know  where  Jesus  lived,  but  An- 
drew did,  and  he  showed  his  brother  the  way. 
How  pleasant  it  is  when  brothers  are  kind  to 
each  other!  As  soon  as  Jesus  saw  Simon,  he 
knew  who  he  was,  without  being  told,  and  he 
knew  the  name  of  his  father,  too,  and  he  said, 
"  Thou  art  Simon,  the  son  of  Jonas."  Jesus 
knows  the  name  of  every  one.  He  knows 
your  name,  and  your  father's  name,  and  your 
mother's  name.  'Jesus  gave  Simon  a  new 
name;  he  called  him  Peter.  Why?  There 
is  a  meaning  in  the  word  Peter;  it  means  "a 
stone."  Christ  knew  that  Simon  would  be 
like  a  "stone."  Is  it  good  to  be  like  a  stone? 
A  stone  is  very  useful.  Ask  the  mason  whether 
a  sto'ie  is  not.  useful.     Christ  knew  that  Simon 


THE     HEAVENLY    LAMB.  89 

would  be  a  preacher,  and  do  a  great  deal  of 
good,  so  he  called  him  "  a  stone." 

Wicked  people  are  not  like  stones,  but  like 
rubbish,  for  they  are  of  no  use  ;  they  are  like 
briars  and  thorns  which  prick,  or  like  scorpions 
which  sting,  or  like  serpents  which  bite,  or  like 
wolves  and  lions,  and  bears  which  devour,  or 
like  dogs  and  pigs  which  eat  vile  food.  But 
good  people — what  are  they  like  ?  They  are 
like  fruitful  trees,  like  harmless  sheep,  like 
stones,  or  silver  or  gold. 

My  child,  what  are  you  like  ?  Are  you  a 
child  of  God,  or  a  child  of  the  devil  ?  If  you 
are  a  child  of  God,  you  are  like  a  gentle  lamb, 
and  Jesus  is  your  shepherd,  and  carries  you  in 
his  arms.  If  you  are  a  child  of  the  devil,  then 
you  are  like  the  devil.  How  horrible  he  is. 
He  loves  sin  and  hates  God. 


I  love  the  Lamb  who  died  for  me, 
I  love  his  little  lamb  to  be ; 
I  love  the  Bible,  where  I  find 
How  good  my  Saviour  was  and  kind 
I  love  beside  his  cross  to  stay, 
I  love  the  grave  where  Jesus  lay ; 
I  love  his  people  and  their  ways, 
I  love  with  them  to  pray  and  praise  ; 
I  love  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
I  love  the  Spirit  he  sent  down ; 
I  love  to  think  the  time  will  come, 
When  I  shall  be  with  him  at  home. 


90  THE    HEAVENLY    LAMB. 


THE  LAMB  OF  GOD.    ' 

Sinners,  "  behold  the  Lamb  of  God," 
Who  takes  away  our  guilt ; 

Look  to  the  precious,  priceless  blood, 
That  Jews  and  Gentiles  spilt. 

From  heaven  he  came  to  seek  and  save, 

Leaving  his  blest  abode : 
To  ransom  us  himself  he  gave — 

"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  !" 

Sinners,  to  Jesus  then  draw  near, 

Invited  by  his  word  ; 
The  chief  of  sinners  need  not  fear — 

"Behold  the  Lamb  of  God!" 

In  every  state,  and  time,  and  place, 
Naught  plead  but  Jesus'  blood ; 

However  wretched  be  your  case, 
"  Behold  the  Laid)  of  God !» 


NATHANAEL. 


Nathanael  was  a  good  man.  He  lived  in 
those  days  when  the  the  Lord  Jesus  was  walk- 
ing about  this  world,  and  he  lived  in  the  same 
country  as  the  Lord,  and  in  a  town  very  near 
the  place  were  the  Lord  dwelt.  Did  Natha- 
nael see  him  ?  Yes,  he  did.  Should  you  like 
to  hear  how  it  was  he  saw  him  first  ? 

Nathanael  had  a  friend  named  Philip.  These 
two  friends,  Nathanael  and  Philip,  had  often 
heard  the  Bible  read  out  loud,  and  they  had 
listened  while  it  was  read.  There  was  one 
promise  in  the  Bible  which  they  had  taken 
much  notice  of — it  was  this,  that  God  would 
one  day  send  ixis  Son  into  the  world.  Natha- 
nael and  Philip  thought  this  a  great  promise, 
and  they  wished  to  know  the  Son  of  God. 


92  VATHANAEL. 

One  day  Philip  came  to  Nathanael  and  said, 
"  We  have  found  him  ;  it  is  Jesus  of  Nazareth/' 
Was  this  true  ?  Oh,  yes;  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
was  the  Son  of  God.  At  first  Nathanael 
thought  that  Philip  had  made  a  mistake,  and 
that  he  had  not  really  found  the  Son  of  God. 
Nathanael  had  heard  that  a  great  many  wicked 
people  lived  in  Nazareth,  and  he  thought  that 
the  Son  of  God  could  not  come  from  such  a 
wicked  city ;  so  he  replied,  "  Can  any  good 
thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ?"  Philip  gave  a 
very  short  answer — it  was  this,  "  Come  and 
see/5  Philip  thought  that  if  Nathanael  were 
just  to  see  Jesus,  he  would  then  be  sure  that 
ne  was  the  Son  of  God  ;  for  though  Jesus  had 
a  body  like  ours,  and  though  he  was  poor,  and 
weak,  and  sorrowful,  he  was  so  wise  and  so 
good,  that  there  was  no  one  ever  seen  like  him. 

Philip  knew  where  to  find  Jesus,  and  he 
took  Nathanael  with  him.  How  much  Philip 
hoped  that  his  friend  would  believe  in  the 
Saviour !  At  last  the  two  friends  came  with- 
in sight  of  Jesus.  Did  the  Lord  know  who 
that  man  was  walking  with  Philip  ?  Oh,  yes, 
he  knew  who  he  was ;  he  had  made  him  ;  he 
gave  him  breath  every  moment ;  he  could  look 
into  his  heart ;  he  knew  all  about  him.  As  soon 
as  he  saw  him  coming  near,  he  said,  "Be- 
hold an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  there  is  no 
guile,"  or  deceit.  What  did  he  mean  by  an 
Israelite  ?  There  was  a  good  man  called 
Israel,  who  prayed  very  earnestly.     NathanaeJ 


NATHANAEL.  93 

was  like  that  Israel,  for  he  had  prayed  earnest- 
ly, and  so  he  was  an  Israelite  indeed.  But  he 
was  quite  surprized  to  hear  Jesus  speak  ot 
him  as  if  he  knew  him,  and  he  cried  out, 
"  Whence  knowest  thou  me  ?"  Then  Jesus 
answered,  "  Before  Philip  called  thee,  when 
thou  wast  under  the  fig-tree,  I  saw  thee." 
Had  Nathanael  been  alone  under  a  fig-tree  ? 
And  what  for  ?  People  who  love  God  get 
often  alone  to  pray  to  him,  and  God  sees 
them  and  hears  them  when  they  are  praying 
by  themselves.  Jesus  had  seen  Nathanael  hid 
under  the  thick  branches  of  a  shady  fig-tree, 
when  n©  one  else  saw  him,  and  we  may  be 
quite  sure  that  he  saw  him  praying,  and  asking 
God  to  forgive  his  sins. 

Nathanael  knew  that  no  one  but  God  had 
seen  him  under  the  fig-tree ;  so  when  he  heard 
what  Jesus  said,  he  knew  that  he  was  God, 
and  he  cried  out,  "  Master,  thou  art  the  Son  of 
God  ;  thou  art  the  King  of  Israel."  How 
happy  Nathanael  was  to  find  the  Saviour! 

Jesus  soon  made  him  such  a  sweet  promise ! 
He  said,  "  Hereafter  ye  shall  see  heaven  open, 
and  the  angels  of  God  ascending  and  descend- 
ing upon  the  Son  of  Man."  Nathanael  has 
been  dead  a  long  while,  but  we  are  sure  that  he 
is  now  with  Jesus  in  heaven,  and  that  he  will 
come  again  with  Jesus  and  the  angels  at 
the  last  day. 

Would  the  child  who  reads  th's  book  like  to 
see  angels,  and  to  see  Jesus  ? 


94:  NATHANAEL. 

If  you  would,  then  go  like  Nathanael  and 
pray  all  alone  by  yourself.  You  cannot  go 
under  a  fig-tree,  but  there  may  be  some  bush 
behind  which  you  can  creep  to  pray,  or  you 
might  pray  by  the  side  of  your  little  bed  when 
no  one  was  near.  God  does  not  mind  what 
place  you  are  in.  If  you  pray  with  your  heart, 
he  will  hear  you. 

I  have  heard  of  a  little  black  girl  who  often 
crept  behind  the  bushes,  and  said,  "  Lord  help 
me ;  Lord,  teach  me ;"  and  God  did  help  her, 
and  sent  her  a  good  man  to  teach  her  about 
Jesus.  Cannot  you  pray  as  that  poor  little  black 
girl  did  ?  You  can  say  to  God,  "  O  Lord, 
pardon  my  sins,  because  Jesus  died  upon  the 
cross.  Give  me  the  Holy  Spirit  to  make  me 
good.  May  I  live  in  the  happy  place  with  thee 
for  ever  and  ever."  God  would  be  pleased  to 
hear  your  young  lips  repeat  such  a  little 
prayer  as  this. 

If  you  wish  to  read  the  history  of  Natha- 
nael in  the  Testament,  look  for  John  1 :  43,  to 
the  end. 


We're  travelling  home  to  heaven  above ; 

Will  you  go? 
To  sing  the  Saviour's  dying  love  ; 

Will  you  go  ? 
Millions  have  reach'd  that  blessed  shore, 
Their  trials  and  labors  all  are  o'er, 
But  still  there's  room  for  millions  more  : 

Will  you  go  ] 


NATI  ANAEL.  95 

We're  going  to  walk  the  plains  of  light ; 

Will  you  go  ? 
Far.  far  from  death,  and  curse,  and  night ; 

Will  you  go  ? 
The  crown  of  life  we  then  shall  wear, 
The  conqueror's  palm  we  then  shall  bear, 
And  all  the  joj  s  of  heaven  share  ; 

Will  you  go  % 

We're  going  to  see  the  bleeding  Lamb  ) 

Will  you  go  ? 
With  joyful  songs  to  praise  his  name  ; 

Will  you  go  ? 
Our  sun  will  then  no  more  go  down, 
Our  moon  no  more  will  be  withdrawn, 
Our  days  of  mourning  past  and  gone  : 

Will  you  go  ? 

The  way  to  heaven  is  straight  and  plain ; 

Will  you  go  1 
Repent,  believe,  be  born  again  : 

Will  you  go  1 
The  Saviour  cries  aloud  to  thee, 
"  Take  up  thy  cross  and  follow  me," 
And  thou  shalt  my  salvation  see  : 

Will  you  go  ? 

0  could  I  hear  some  sinner  say, 

"  I  will  go  ?" 

0  could  I  hear  him  humbly  pray, 

"  Make  me  go." 
And  all  his  old  companions  tell, 
"  I  will  not  go  with  you  to  hell, 

1  long  with  Jesus  Christ  to  dwell : 

"  Let  me  go." 


THE  WOMAN  AT  THE  WELL. 

Did  you  ever  take  a  journey,  and  how  did 
you  travel?  The  quickest  way  of  travelling 
is  by  the  railroad  train.  You  may  go  in  that 
way  twenty-five  miles  in  one  hour.  An- 
other way  of  travelling  is  in  a  coach  or  omni- 
bus. But  people  often  go  in  a  wagon,  while 
others  go  on  foot — that  is  a  very  slow  way  in- 
deed. Twenty  miles  in  a  day  is  a  good  jour- 
ney for  a  man,  and  as  for  a  child,  I  do  not 
think  he  could  walk  ten  without  being  very 
much  tired. 

I  am  now  going  to  tell  you  of  a  poor  man 
who  travelled  on  foot.  Where  was  he  going  ?' 
Was  it  to  his  home  ?  He  had  none.  He  was 
always  going  from  place  to  place  to  teach  peo- 
ple about  God.  This  poor  man  was  a  very 
good  man  ;  he  would  often  preach  while  people 
stood  around  and  listened.  I  hope  you  never 
laugh  at  any  poor  man  you  see  preaching  in 
the  streets.  This  poor  man  did  not  travel 
alone ;  there  were  twelve  other  poor  men  who 
went  with  him ;  they  were  his  friends ;  they 


THE    WOMAN    AT    THE     WELL  97 

liked  to  be  with  him,  and  to  hear  what  he  said 
about  God  and  heaven. 

One  day  this  poor  man  was  making  a  jour- 
ney with  his  friends.  It  was  very  hot,  and 
about  the  middle  of  the  day ;  he  was  tired,  and 
hungry,  and  thirsty ;  he  saw  a  well  of  water 
just  under  a  hill,  and  he  sat  down  by  it  to  rest 
himself.  There  was  a  town  a  little  way  off,  and 
his  friends  went  to  the  town  to  buy  some  food, 
so  the  poor  man  was  all  alone  by  the  side  ot 
the  well;  but  though  he  was  thirsty,  he  could 
not  drink,  for  the  well  was  deep,  and  there  was 
no  bucket  there.  Very  soon  a  woman  came 
to  the  well  with  a  jug  to  fetch  water;  the 
poor  man  said  to  her,  "  Give  me  to  drink." 
He  always  spoke  kindly,  yet  this  woman  be- 
haved very  rudely  to  him.  She  saw  that  this 
poor  man  was  a  Jew,  and  she  did  not  like  the 
Jews.  I  hope  you  do,  for  God  loves  the  poor 
Jews.  The  woman  would  not  give  the  thirsty 
traveller  any  water,  because  he  was  a  Jew. 
Was  the  poor  man  angry  ?  Oh,  no  ;  he  was  a 
meek,  gentle,  and  patient  man  :  he  only  told  the 
woman,  if  she  had  asked  him  for  water,  he 
would  have  given  her  living  water.  The 
woman  was  surprised  to  hear  this,  and  asked 
how  he  could  give  her  water,  when  he  had  no 
jug,  or  bucket,  and  the  well  was  deep.  Then 
she  began  to  say  what  good  water  there  was 
in  the  well,  and  she  was  sure  that  the  good  man 
could  not  give  her  any  better  water.  But  the 
poor  man  told  her  that  he  could  give  her  bet- 
9 


98  THE    WOMAN    AT    THE    WELL. 

ter  water  than  that;  "for,"  said  he,  "who- 
soever drinketh  of  this  water  shall  thirst  again, 
but  whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water  that 
I  shall  give  him  shall  never  thirst."  Then  the 
woman  thought  she  would  like  such  water  as 
that,  for  she  could  not  bear  the  trouble  of  com- 
ing to  the  well  every  day  to  fill  her  jug ;  so  she 
said,  "  Sir"  (for  she  wras  more  civil  now 
than  she  was  at  first,)  "  give  me  this  water, 
that  I  thirst  not,  neither  come  hither  to  draw." 
But  instead  of  giving  her  any  wTater,  the  poor 
man  began  to  talk  to  her  about  her  sins,  for  he 
knew  she  was  a  wicked  woman,  and  had  done 
many  wrong  things.  She  was  quite  surprised 
to  find  that  the  stranger  knew  all  about  her — 
knew  things  which  other  people  did  not  know. 
At  last  she  said,  "  I  see  you  are  a  prophet ;" 
and  so  he  was — the  woman  was  right  in  think- 
ing the  poor  man  was  a  prophet.  But  still  she 
did  not  guess  who  he  was.  At  last  he  told 
her ;  and  who  do  you  think  that  poor  man  was  ? 
The  Son  of  God !  Oh,  wonderful !  The  Son 
of  the  great  God  a  poor  man,  sitting  by  a  well ! 
It  is  wonderful,  yet  it  is  true. 

When  the  woman  knew  it  was  Jesus  Christ 
wTho  was  talking  to  her,  she  left  her  jug  and 
ran  very  quickly  into  the  town.  What  for  ? 
To  call  the  people  to  see  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
She  said  to  them,  "  Come,  see  a  man  who  told 
me  all  things  that  ever  I  did :  is  not  this  the 
Christ  ?"  The  people  of  the  town  went  back 
with  the   woman   to   the   well.     Would  you 


THE     WOMAN    AT    THE    WELL.  9C 

have  gone  back  wiih  the  woman  ?  I  think  you 
would.  The  poor  man  was  still  sitting  by  the 
well,  and  his  twelve  friends  were  with  him. 
But  he  had  not  eaten  any  dinner — he  could  not, 
for  he  was  so  glad  about  this  woman  and 
about  the  people  of  the  town,  for  he  was  going 
to  teach  them,  and  to  save  their  souls  from 
going  to  hell.  He  liked  saving  souls.  It  was 
his  delight.  He  had  come  down  from  heaven 
on  purpose  to  save  us. 

The  people  from  the  town  begged  him  not 
to  go  on  his  journey,  but  to  stay  with  them ; 
and  so  he  went  to  the  town  and  stayed  there 
two  days.  How  much  he  talked  to  the  people 
while  he  was  there !  He  told  them  about  God 
his  Father,  and  about  sin  and  Satan,  and  hell, 
and  that  he  had  come  to  save  them  by  dying 
for  them.  A  great  many  of  the  people  believed 
what  he  said,  and  loved  him.  Some  had  not 
believed  when  the  woman  said,  "  He  has  told 
me  all  I  ever  did."  But  they  did  believe  when 
they  heard  him  speak  themselves.  "  Now" 
they  said,  "  we  believe  that  this  is  the  Saviour 
of  the  world." 

Did  the  poor  man  give  water  to  the  people  ? 
Yes,  he  gave  them  water  from  heaven.  What 
do  I  mean  by  "water?"  "  The  Holy  Spirit  of 
God."  When  people  have  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
their  hearts,  they  are  happy,  for  then  they  love 
God.  People  who  do  not  love  God,  are  not 
happy;  they  are  always  trying  to  be  happy, 
but  they  cannot  be  happy.     Can  money  make 


100  THE    WOMAN    AT    THE    WELL. 

people  happy  ?  No.  Can  cakes  and  fruit  ? 
Can  new  coats  and  frocks  ?  Can  picture-books  ? 
Can  fine  sights  ?  None  of  these  things  can 
make  you  happy  always.  They  please  for  a 
little  while,  but  the  pleasure  is  soon  over.  But 
if  you  love  God,  you  will  always  be  happy — 
you  will  thirst  no  more. 

Should  you  like  to  be  happy  ?  I  know  you 
would.  Then  go  to  Jesus.  He  is  not  sitting 
by  a  well  now,  yet  you  may  find  him,  though 
you  cannot  see  him.  He  is  sitting  on  a  throne 
in  heaven.  If  you  were  to  speak  to  him  he 
would  hear  you.  Say  to  him,  "  O  Lord  Jesus, 
make  me  happy.  Give  me  thy  Holy  Spirit.  I 
want  to  live  with  God,  and  not  to  go  to  hell." 
Jesus  knows  all  the  naughty  things  we  have 
done.  If  he  wTere  to  .come  into  this  room,  he 
could  tell  you  a  great  deal  that  I  do  not  know. 
He  saw  one  child  go  to  the  cupboard,  when 
its  mother's  back  was  turned,  and  steal 
sugar.  He  heard  another  tell  a  lie — nobody 
found  him  out,  but  God  knew  it.  He  observes 
the  spiteful  pinch  ;  he  knows  when  big  girls 
shake  the  little  ones;  he  hears  wicked  children 
when  they  call  their  parents  bad  names — such 
names  as  I  would  not  like  to  repeat;  and  he 
hears,  too,  when  they  speak  any  bad  word :  all, 
all  is  written  down  in  God's  book — nothing  is 
forgotten,  and  all  will  be  read  out  one  day. 
But  if  you  ask  God  now,  he  will  forgive  you 
all.  Oh,  ask  him — ask  him ;  he  has  promised 
to  forgive  you,  if  you  ask,  because  Jesus  died 


THE  WOMAN  AT  THE  WELL.       101 

for  you.     He  forgave  the  woman  at  the  well, 
though  she  was  a  very  naughty  woman. 
Read  John  4  :  6-43. 


'Tis  religion  that  can  g'.ve 
Sweetest  pleasure  while  we  live  ; 
'Tis  religion  must  supply 
Solid  comfort  when  we  die. 

After  death  its  joy  will  be 
Lasting  as  eternity. 
Be  the  living  God  my  friend, 
Then  my  bliss  shall  never  end. 
9* 


THE  FOUR  FISHERMEN. 

There  were  once  four  fishermen,  two  of 
them  were  brothers,  and  the  other  two  were 
brothers.  Two  brothers  were  called  John  and 
James,  and  two  were  called  Andrew  and  Si- 
mon Peter.  These  four  fishermen  were  friends ; 
they  shared  with  each  other  all  they  caught, 
for  they  were  partners  in  trade.  They  had 
two  fishing  boats,  or  little  ships ;  they  lived  by 
the  seaside.  The  best  time  for  fishing  is  in 
the  night.  These  men  used  to  go  fishing  in 
the  night. 

A  fisherman  leads  a  hard  life.  When  the 
wind  blows  and  makes  the  sea  rough,  he  is 
tossed  about :  his  little  boat  is  borne  up  by  a 
high  wave,  and  then  it  sinks  into  a  deep  place 
where  the  water  rolls  over  it.  The  poor  fish- 
erman is  wet  to  the  skin,  and  has  no  fire  by 
which  to  dry  his  clothes.  He  does  not  care 
for  that,  for  now  he  sees  a  great  wave  rolling 
towards  him  which  may  perhaps  swallow  him 
up.  When  the  sea  is  smooth  he  lets  down  his 
net  to  catch  fish,  but  sometimes  he  cannot 
catch  any  ;  he  takes  it  up  out  of  the  water,  and 
finds  it  empty.  While  his  children  are  sleeping 
in  their  little  beds  in  his  hut,  he  is  toiling  hard 
on  the  great  sea.     In  the  morning  "ie  returns 


THE    FOUR    FISHERMEN.  103 

home  chilled  with  the  cold  winds.  If  he  has 
plenty  of  fish  in  his  boat  then  he  is  glad,  for  he 
sells  them  to  buy  bread  for  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren. 

The  four  fishermen  of  whom  I  have  told  you, 
went  one  night  in  their  two  little  ships  to  catch 
fish,  but  they  could  not  catch  any  at  all.  In 
the  morning  they  left  their  ships  and  went  on 
shore,  where  they  began  to  wash  their  nets. 
There  came  to  the  place  where  they  were,  a 
man  whom  they  knew  well  and  loved  much. 
He  was  greater  than  any  man  upon  earth 
yet,  he  was  the  friend  of  the  fisherman. 
He  looked  like  a  poor  man,  yet  he  had  made 
all  things.  Who  could  this  be?  It  was 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  He  had  come 
down  from  heaven  to  live  in  the  world  a 
little  while.  He  preached  very  often  to  poor 
people.  He  was  standing  by  the  seaside,  and 
a  great  crowd  of  people  were  standing  round 
him,  and  they  stood  very  close  to  him,  listening 
to  what  he  said. 

Jesus  wished  to  get  out  of  the  crowd,  that 
he  might  preach  to  them  more  easily.  He 
saw  the  two  ships  ;  he  knew  whose  ships  they 
were.  He  saw  Simon  Peter  very  near,  wash- 
ing his  net,  and  he  said  he  would  go  into  his 
ship,  and  he  told  Simon  to  push  it  a  little  way 
into  the  water.  When  he  was  got  into  the 
ship,  he  sat  down  and  preached  to  the  people 
who  were  standing  on  the  land.  Now  they 
could  hear  him  very  well,  and  they  could  see 


104  THE    FOUR    FISHERMEN. 

nim  better  than  before.     It  was  a  good  plan  to 
eit  in  a  ship  and  preach. 

The  two  brothers  Simon  and  Andrew  were 
in  the  ship  with  Jesus.  These  poor  men  must 
have  felt  tired  after  the  sleepless  night  they 
had  passed.  Jesus  knew  all  their  troubles 
without  their  telling  him,  for  he  knew  all 
things,  because  he  was  God.  After  he  had 
done  preaching,  he  told  Simon  to  make  his 
ship  go  further  into  the  water,  and  then 
let  down  their  nets  to  catch  fish.  Simon 
answered  that  they  had  been  trying  all  night 
to  catch  fish  and  had  not  caught  any,  but  that 
they  would  do  what  he  told  them  to  do.  The 
Lord  Jesus  was  pleased  with  Simon  for  doing 
what  he  told  him.  It  is  always  best  to  do  what 
he  bids.  Simon  and  Andrew  let  down  their  net, 
and  then  tried  to  pull  it  up  again,  but  in  trying  to 
pull  it  up  the  net  broke.  What  could  they  do 
now?  All  their  fishes  would  soon  get' out  of 
the  net,  if  they  did  not  make  haste.  They 
made  a  sign  to  John  and  James,  who  were  in 
the  other  ship,  to  come  and  help  them.  Then 
all  the  four  fishermen  lifted  up  the  net  and 
took  the  fishes  out  of  it:  and  there  were  so 
many  that  both  the  ships  were  filled,  and 
were  so  heavy  that  they  were  beginning  to 
sink.  Then  it  was  that  Simon  Peter  fell  down 
at  the  knees  of  Jesus,  who  was  sitting  in  the 
ship,  and  said,  "  Depart  from  me,  for  I  am  a 
sinful  man."  Why  did  he  ask  Jesus  to  go 
away  from  him  ?     Did  he  not  love  him  ?     Had 


THE    FOUR    FISHERMEN.  105 

not  Jesus  been  very  kind  to  him,  in  letting 
him  catch  all  these  fishes  ?  Yes,  it  was  because 
Jesus  had  been  so  very  kind  that  Simon  asked 
him  to  go  away,  for  he  felt  that  he  was  not 
good  enough  to  have  such  a  friend.  Perhaps 
Simon  Peter,  when  he  could  not  catch  fish  in 
the  night,  may  have  thought  that  God  was  un- 
kind, and  that  he  would  let  him  starve ;  but 
now  he  saw  how  kind  God  was,  and  he  was 
ashamed  of  himself.  Have  you  never  thought 
God  unkind  ?  It  is  a  great  sin  to  think  so. 
God  sometimes  seems  unkind,  but  he  always 
has  some  wise  reason  for  what  he  does.  Now 
Simon  Peter  knew  why  he  had  caught  no  fish 
in  the  night.  It  was  that  he  might  see  in  the 
morning  how  wise,  and  strong,  and  kind  the 
Lord  Jesus  was. 

Did  Jesus  go  away  from  him  ?  Oh,  no ;  he 
knew  that  Peter  loved  him.  He  said  to  him, 
"  Fear  not ;  from  henceforth  thou  shalt  catch 
men."  What  did  he  mean  by  catching  men  ? 
He  meant  that  Peter  wrould  catch  the  souls  of 
men.  He  meant  that  Peter  would  tell  men  that 
Jesus  was  come  down  from  heaven  to  die  for 
their  sins  upon  the  cross,  and  save  them  from  go- 
ing to  hell.  Afterwards  Peter  was  a  preacher, 
and  a  great  many  men  believed  what  he  said,  and 
turned  to  God,  and  were  saved.  So  he  did 
catch  men,  and  so  did  Andrew,  and  John,  and 
J  ames ;  these  four  fishermen  left  off  fishing, 
and  became  preachers. 

When  they  had  hrought  their  two  ships  to 


*06  THE    FOUR     FISHERMEN 

land,  they  left  them,  and  went  aftei  Jesus 
They  followed  him  from  place  to  place,  and 
listened  to  his  kind  voice,  and  saw  the  wonders 
he  did.  At  last  they  looked  upon  him  as  he 
was  hanging  on  his  cross,  and  they  stood  near 
when  his  body  was  put  into  the  grave.  When 
he  was  alive  again,  they  saw  him  and  were 
glad,  and  now  they  are  with  Jesus  in  heaven. 
When  he  comes  again,  they  will  come  with 
him.  It  is  a  happy  thing  to  belong  to  Jesus. 
Happy  are  the  fishermen  who  love  him  now, 
and  happy  are  the  fishermen's  children  who 
love  him,  and  happy  are  all  the  poor  little  boys 
who  love  Jesus ! 

This  history  may  be  found  in  Luke  5 : 1-11. 


Hosanna  to  the  Son 

Of  David  and  of  God, 
Who  brought  the  news  of  pardon  down 

And  bought  it  with  his  blood. 

To  Christ  the  annointed  King, 

Be  endless  blessings  given  ; 
Let  the  whole  earth  his  glories  sing, 

Who  made  our  peace  with  Heaven. 


THE  WIDOW  AND  HER  SON. 

When  a  child  dies,  who  is  it  sheds  the  most 
tears  ?  Is  it  not  the  child's  mother  ?  If  it  be 
an  only  child  who  has  died,  how  very  unhappy 
the  mother  is !  And  if  that  mother  be  a 
widow,  she  is  the  more  to  be  pitied,  because 
she  has  no  husband  to  weep  with  her.  A  long, 
long  while  ago  a  widow  lost  her  only  son.  He 
was  a  young  man.  I  do  not  know  whether  he 
was  a  good  son  or  not,  but  this  I  know,  his 
mother  loved  him.  Soon  after  he  died,  he  was 
put  in  a  coffin,  and  carried  by  some  men  to  be 
buried.  The  coffin  had  no  lid — it  was  not  like 
the  coffins  in  this  country,  for  they  are  screw- 
ed down. 

The  men  were  taking  him  out  of  the  town 
where  he  had  died  into  the  country  to  be  bu- 
ried, and  his  mother  walked  near  him,  crying 
very  much,  and  a  great  many  people  followed. 
They  met  on  the  road  another  crowd,  who 
were  going  towards  the  town.  There  was  no 
dead  person  in  that  crowd,  but  there  was  a 
very  wonderful  man  called  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  He  had  come  down 
from  heaven,  and  was  living  in  the  world  ;  and 
he  did  such  wonderful  things  that  people  fob 
lowed  him  about  from  place  to  place.     He  saw 


108  THE    WIDOW    AND     HER    SON. 

the  poor  widow  weeping*.  He  knew  all  about 
her  trouble  without  being  told  ;  he  knew  she 
had  lost  her  only  son,  and  he  felt  very  sorry  for 
her.  He  came  up  to  her  and  said,  "  Weep 
not."  But  how  could  the  poor  mother  help 
weeping  ?  Jesus  could  make  her  happy.  He 
went  up  to  the  coffin  where  the  young  man 
was,  and  touched  it.  Immediately  the  men 
who  carried  it  stood  still.  Then  he  said, 
"Young  man,  I  say  unto  thee,  arise."  The 
young  man  wTas  dead,  how  could  he  get  up  out 
of  his  coffin  ?  But  the  dead  hear  the  voice  of 
Jesus,  because  he  is  God.  The  young  man 
sat  up,  and  began  to  speak.  I  wonder  what  he 
said.  Did  he  praise  God,  or  did  he  ask  to  see 
his  mother  ? 

Do  you  think  the  widow  left  off  weeping 
now  ?  If  she  shed  tears  now,  they  must  have 
been  tears  of  joy.  Jesus  himself  gave  the 
young  man  back  to  his  mother.  How  happily 
Xhe  widow  and  her  son  must  have  v  alked 
home  together ! 

Every  one  who  saw  this  wonder  was  very 
much  surprised,  and  felt  afraid.  Many  people 
said.  "  A  great  prophet  has  risen  up  amongst 
us."  They  thought  that  God  had  sent  him. 
And  so  he  had  ;  the  Father  in  heaven  had  sent 
his  Son  down  into  this  world  :  and  why.  To 
die.  Jesus  came  to  die  for  sinners.  Why  did 
he  give  life  to  the  young  man  ?  To  show  peo- 
ple that  all  he  said  was  true.  He  could  make 
all  dead  people  alive  now,  but  he  lets  them  lie 


THE    WIDOW    AXD    HER     SON.  109 

in  their  graves  till  the  day  when  he  will  come 
again.  "  Then  all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall 
hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come  forth."  What  a 
day  that  will  be!  We  often  see  a  churchyard 
filled  with  graves;  there  are  stones  over  some 
graves,  but  the  green  grass  grows  over  many 
a  coffin.  The  ground  is  full  of  dead  people. 
What  a  sight  it  will  be  when  all  these  dead 
people  come  up  out  of  their  graves  !  They  will 
see  Jesus  seated  upon  a  throne  of  glory,  with 
all  his  bright  angels  round  him.  Then  Jesus 
will  judge  the  dead.  ■  He  will  say  whether  they 
shall  go  to  heaven  or  to  hell.  Whom  will  he 
take  to  heaven  ?  Those  wTho  believe  that  he 
died  upon  the  cross  to  save  them  ;  those  who 
love  him,  and  serve  him,  and  wish  to  see  his 
face.  Whom  will  he  cast  into  hell  ?  Those 
who  forget  him,  and  do  not  care  for  him. 

Pray  to  Jesus  to  take  you  to  heaven  when 
you  die.  Some  persons  will  be  alive  when 
Jesus  comes  again.  He  will  judge  them  as 
well  as  the  dead.  If  they  love  him,  they  shall 
have  bright  and  glorious  bodies  like  the  body 
of  Jesus.  And  the  dead  people,  too,  shall  have 
new  bodies.  The  young  man  whom  Jesus 
made  alive  again  had  his  old  body  still,  and  at 
last  he  died  ao;ain  ;  but  those  who  are  made 
alive  at  the  last  day,  shall  never  die  any  more. 
The  wicked  shall  be  unhappy  forever,  and  that 
is  the  worst  sort  of  dying.  It  is  called  the 
second  death.  May  you,  my  dear  child,  never 
feel  what  it  is  ! 
10 


110  THE     WIDOW     4ND    HER    SON. 

You  may  read  the  history  of  the  widow'i 
son  in  Luke  7:  11-16. 


Here  we  suffer  grief  and  pain, 
Here  we  meet  to  part  again ; 
In  heaven  we  part  no  more, 

Oh,  that  will  be  joyful ! 

Joyful,  joyful,  joyful ! 

Oh,  that  will  be  joyful ! 
When  we  meet  to  part  no  more ! 

All  who  love  the  Lord  below, 
When  they  die,  to  heaven  will  go, 
And  sing  with  saints  above. 

Oh,  that  will  be  joyful! 

Joyful,  joyful,  joyful ! 

Oh,  that  will  be  joyful ! 
When  we  meet  to  part  no  more. 

Holy  children  will  be  there, 

Who  have  sought  the  Lord  by  prays 

From  every  Sunday  school. 

Oh,  that  will  be  joyful ! 

Joyful,  joyful,  joyful ! 

Oh,  that  will  be  oyful ! 
When  we  meet  to  part  no  more. 


THE     WIDOW    AND    HER    SON.  Hi 

Teachers,  too,  shall  meet  above, 
And  our  pastors,  whom  we  love, 
Shall  meet  to  part  no  more. 

Oh,  that  will  be  joyful ! 

Joyful,  joyful,  joyful ! 

Oh,  that  will  be  joyful ! 
When  we  meet  to  part  no  more. 

Oh,  how  happy  we  shall  be  ! 
For  our  Saviour  we  shall  see, 
Exalted  on  his  throne  ! 

Oh,  that  will  be  joyful ! 

Joyful,  joyful,  joyful ! 

Oh,  that  will  be  joyful ! 
When  we  meet  to  part  no  more. 

There  we  all  shall  sing  with  joy, 

And  eternity  employ 

[n  praising  Christ  the  Lord, 

Oh,  that  will  be  joyful  ! 

Joyful,  joyful,  joyful ! 

Oh,  that  will  be  joyful ! 
When  we  meet  to  part  no  mors. 


THE  WOMAN  WHO  WASHED  THE 
SAVIOUR'S  FEET. 

When  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  oi 
God,  lived  in  this  world,  some  people  hated 
him,  and  some  people  loved  him.  Do  you 
think  }tou  should  have  loved  him  ?  He  was 
very  kind,  and  gentle,  and  meek.  You  think 
you  should  have  loved  him.  But  I  must  tell 
you  something  else  about  him — he  hates  sin  ; 
he  has  seen  all  the  naughty  things  you  have 
'done.     Should  you  love  him  ? 

I  will  tell  you  the  reason  why  some  people 
iOved  him,  and  why  some  people  did  not.  It 
is  this :  people  who  were  sorry  for  their  sins, 
loved  him ;  people  who  were  not  sorry,  did 
not. 

There  was  a  woman  who  had  committed  a 
great  many  sins.  People  thought  her  very 
bad.  One  day,  when  Jesus  was  sitting  at  din- 
ner in  a  rich  man's  house,  she  went  in,  and 
she  come  behind  him,  and  she  stood  there  cry- 
ing. What  made  her  cry  ?  It  was  her  sins  ; 
she  was  sorry  that  she  had  often  been  very 
wicked.  Jesus  was  reclining  at  dinner,  for  it 
is  the  custom  in  some  hot  countries  to  lie  down 
when  you  eat.  He  was  not  lying  down  quite 
flat ;  he  sat  up,  resting  on  his   elbow,  but  his 


THE    WOMAN,    ETC.  113 

feet  were  upon  the  sofa.  The  poor  woman 
began  to  wash  his  feet — not  with  water,  not  in 
a  basin — but  with  her  tears.  And  how  did 
she  wipe  them?  With  her  own  long  hair. 
Then  she  kissed  his  feet,  and  poured  sweet 
ointment  on  them. 

The  man  who  had  invited  Jesus  to  dine 
with  him  was  called  Simon ;  he  was  a  proud 
man ;  he  was  angry  when  he  saw  the  poor 
woman  showing  so  much  love  to  the  Lord, 
and  he  thought  in  his  heart,  "  If  Jesus  wTere 
really  so  wise  as  people  think,  he  would  know 
what  sort  of  a  woman  that  is,  and  he  would  not 
let  her  touch  him."  Did  Jesus  know  what  sort 
of  a  woman  she  was  ?  Oh,  yes  ;  he  knew  all 
the  bad  things  she  had  ever  done,  and  he  had 
forgiven  her — quite  forgiven  her.  Jesus  saw 
into  the  woman's  heart ;  he  saw  that  she  loved 
him  for  having  forgiven  her.  He  saw  into 
the  heart  of  the  proud  Simon  ;  he  knew  all  he 
was  thinking  about,  so  he  asked  him  a  ques- 
tion. First  he  told  him  a  little  history.  He 
said,  there  were  two  men  who  owed  some 
money;  one  owed  a  great  deal,  the  other  a 
very  little.  A  kind  man  to  whom  they  owed 
the  money,  said  to  both  the  men,  "  You  need 
not  pay  me."  "  Which  would  love  the  kind 
man  the  best ;  the  man  who  owed  much,  or 
the  man  who  owed  little  ?" 

Simon  answered,  "  The  man  who  owed 
much  will  love  the  most."  Was  that  a  right 
answer?  Jesus  said  it  was  a  right  answer. 
10* 


114       THE  WOMAN  WHO  WASHED 

Why  did  Jesus  ask  Simon  this  question?  To 
show  why  the  woman  loved  him  so  much. 
She  loved  him  because  she  felt  she  had  done  a 
great  many  bad  things,  and  that  Jesus  had  for- 
given all.  And  why  did  not  Simon  love  him? 
Because  he  did  not  think  he  had  done  bad 
things  ;  he  thought  he  was  very  good,  but  he 
was  not  really  good  ;  he  had  behaved  very 
rudely  to  the  Lord.  It  was  the  custom  in  that 
hot  country  always  to  bring  water  in  a  basin 
to  wash  the  feet  of  your  friends  before  they 
sat  down  to  dinner  ;  and  it  was  the  custom  to 
kiss  your  friends  when  they  came  to  see  you, 
and  to  pour  some  sweet  oil  upon  their  heads. 
Simon  had  done  none  of  these  things  to  Jesus. 
But  the  woman  had  washed  his  feet  with  tears, 
and  had  kissed  them,  and  had  poured  ointment 
on  them. 

And  why  did  the  woman  love  the  Lord  so 
much  ?  Jesus  told  Simon  the  reason  ;  "  Her 
sins,  which  are  many,  are  forgiven."  That 
was  the  reason  she  loved  the  Lord  so  much. 
Then  Jesus  said  to  the  woman,  "  Thy  sins  are 
forgiven."  How  glad  that  poor  woman  must 
have  been  to  hear  Jesus,  with  his  own  kind  and 
gentle  voice  say  to  her,  "  Thy  sins  are  for- 
given !  Would  she  ever  forget  those  words  ? 
Would  she  be  afraid  to  die  ? 

But  the  men  who  sat  at  the  table  were  angry 
when  they  heard  those  words ;  they  thought 
that  Jesus  could  not  forgive  sins  ;  they  did  not 
believe  that  he  was  the  Son  of  God ;  they  did 


THE    SAVIOUR'S    FEET.  115 

not  Know  that  his  Father  had  sent  him  down 
here  to  be  nailed  to  a  cross  of  wood,  and  to 
die  for  our  sins. 

Jesus  did  not  answer  those  wicked  men,  but 
he  spoke  again  to  the  woman.  He  said, 
u  Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee ;  go  in  peace." 
Oh,  what  a  happy  woman  she  was!  she  was 
saved  from  hell  by  faith,  that  is,  by  believing 
in  Jesus.  This  is  the  only  way  to  be  saved. 
We  have  all  done  more  sins  than  there  are 
hairs  upon  our  head,  but  if  we  believe  that 
Jesus  died  for  our  sins  we  shall  be  saved.  It 
is  not  enough  to  say,  "  We  believe,"  we  must 
believe  with  our  hearts  ;  then  we  shall  love 
Jesus,  and  hate  sin. 

A  little  girl  of  five  years  old  once  said  to  her 
mother,  "  Do  you  know  when  I  feel  the  hap- 
piest ?  Her  mother  answered,  "  I  suppose 
when  you  are  good."  "No,"  said  she,  "but 
when  I  feel  very  sorry  for  having  been  naugh- 
ty, and  that  God  has  forgiven  me."  That 
young  child  was  like  this  poor  woman ;  she 
knew  she  was  a  sinr  er,  and  she  loved  her 
Saviour. 

You  may  read  this  history  in  Luke  7  :  36, 
to  the  end. 


116  THE    WOMAN,    ETC. 


Oh,  teli  me  who  is  standing  there, 
With  weeping  eyes  and  flowing  hair, 

And  box  of  ointment  sweet : 
Now  on  the  ground  she's  bending  low, 
Her  tears  yet  fast  and  faster  flow — 

They  fall  on  Jesus'  feet. 

Ah,  she  whose  love  is  now  so  strong, 
Has  wander'd  far,  has  wander'd  long, 

And  from  her  God  has  gone  • 
But  now  with  willing  feet  returns, 
And  now  with  deepest  sorrow  mourns 

The  deeds  that  she  has  done. 

To  her  dear  Lord  such  love  she  bears, 
His  feet  she  washes  with  her  tears, 

And  wipes  them  with  her  hair ; 
And  then,  with  pious  tenderness, 
Fond  kisses  ceases  not  to  press, 

And  pours  the  ointment  rare. 


THE  WILD  MAN. 

There  is  one  creature  who  hates  men,  and 
who  is  always  trying  to  do  them  harm.  He  is 
not  a  man,  he  is  a  spirit,  and  he  can  go  about 
without  being  seen.  His  name  is  Satan  ;  he 
is  very  wicked.  God  is  very  angty  with  him, 
and  will  not  let  him  live  in.  heaven  with  the 
good  angels.  Satan  has  a  great  many  ser- 
vants. He  and  his  servants  are  cailed  devils, 
and  they  all  agree  together  to  try  to  hurt  us 
poor  creatures  upon  earth.  But  God,  who 
made  us,  can  take  care  of  us.  Let  us  pray 
to  him.  Then  all  the  devils  can  never  do  us 
harm. 

A  long  while  ago  there  was  a  man  whom 
the  devils  made  very  miserable.  The  devils 
were  in  him.  This  man  would  not  wear  any 
clothes ;  he  would  not  live  in  a  house,  but  he 
went  to  places  where  dead  people  were  buried. 
There  were  no  churchyards  in  those  days. 
Dead  bodies  were  buried  among  the  hills  and 
rocks,  where  no  one  lived.  It  was  in  those 
lonely  places  that  this  man  liked  to  be.  Every 
one  was  afraid  of  passing  near  the  place  where 
he  was,  for  he  was  very  fierce.  Sometimes 
people  got  hold  of  him,  and  put  chains  round 
his  hands  and  feet;  but  he  was  so  strong  that 


118  THE    WILD    MAN. 

he  broke  them  and  got  away  again,  and  then 
he  cut  his  own  flesh  with  sharp  stones,  so  that 
his  body  was  covered  with  wounds  and  blood. 
It  was  dreadful  to  see  him — and  then  to  hear 
his  cries,  that  was  dreadful !  You  would  have 
thought  it  was  a  wild  beast,  if  you  had  heard 
his  howls  and  his  screams  as  you  were  walk- 
ing among  the  lonely  hills  at  night.  I  do  not 
believe  that  there  is  any  man  now  in  the  world 
in  such  a  dreadful  state  as  this  poor  creature 
was  in,  for  there  were  a  great  many  devils  in 
him. 

No  doctor  could  have  made  this  man  well. 
But  there  was  one  person  in  the  world  who 
could  do  everything :  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God, 
wras  then  living  in  the  world  ;  he  was  a  man, 
like  your  father  or  your  uncle,  only  he  was 
quite  good.  Jesus  is  a  man  still,  as  well  as 
God,  but  he  lives  in  heaven  now  with  God  his 
Father. 

It  was  a  happy  thing  for  that  miserable  man 
that  Jesus  came  near  the  place  where  he  was. 
He  ran  to  Jesus,  fell  down  at  his  feet,  and  wor- 
shipped him.  Then  Jesus  said,  "  Come  out  of 
the  man,  thou  unclean  spirit."  He  answered, 
"  What  have  1  to  do  with  thee,  Jesus,  thou 
Son  of  the  Most  High  God  ?  Art  thou  come 
hither  to  torment  me  before  the  time  ?"  It  was 
the  devils  in  the  man  who  made  him  speak,  for 
they  made  him  do  all  they  pleased.  The  devils 
did  not  like  to  be  sent  out  of  the  man,  and  they 
begged  Jesus  not  to  send  them  quite  away,  but 


THE    WILD    MAN.  119 

to  let  them  go  into  a  great  herd  of  swine  that 
were  feeding  among  the  hills  close  by ;  and 
Jesus  said,  "  Go." 

As  soon  as  the  devils  were  in  those  poor 
swine,  a  very  strange  thing  happened.  The 
swine  no  longer  fed  quietly  on  the  grass,  as 
they  had  done  before,  but  they  began  to  run 
violently  all  together  down  a  steep  hill  into  the 
water  which  was  at  the  bottom,  and  they  were 
all  choked  in  that  deep  water  and  died.  In  a 
few  minutes  two  thousand  swine  were  destroy- 
ed. There  were  some  people  who  were  paid 
to  look  after  the  swine.  When  they  saw  that 
the  poor  beasts  were  all  drowned,  they  were 
very  much  frightened,  and  ran  into  the  town 
and  told  everybody  what  had  happened. 

Soon  there  was  a  great  crowd  of  people 
standing  near  Jesus,  and  there  was  one  sitting 
at  the  feet  of  Jesus  who  looked  gentle  and 
harmless.  Who  was  that  man  ?  It  wTas  the 
same  who  had  once  been  like  a  wild  beast, 
fierce,  and  naked,  and  miserable.  Now  he  was 
clothed,  now  he  was  quiet,  now  he  was  happy. 
People  remembered  his  face,  and  asked  how  he 
came  to  be  so  quiet.  When  they  heard  how 
Jesus  had  told  the  devils  to  come  out  of  him, 
and  how  the  devils  had  gone  into  the  pigs  and 
destroyed  them,  the  people  were  frightened. 
Why  were  they  frightened  ?  Ought  they  not 
to  have  been  pleased  ?  A  man  is  worth  more 
in  God's  sight  than  all  the  beasts  in  the  world, 
because  he  has  a  soul,  which  beasts  have  not 


120  THE    WILD    MAN. 

— because  he  will  live  forever,  which  beasts 
will  not — because  he  can  think  of  God,  which 
beasts  cannot.  The  foolish  people  begged 
Jesus  to  leave  them.  Why  did  they  not  bring 
their  sick  children  to  him  to  be  made  well? 
Why  did  they  not  bring  their  blind  and  lame 
parents  to  be  cured  ?  They  were  foolish  in- 
deed. I  am  afraid  that  they  were  too  sorry  at 
having  lost  their  pigs,  and  were  afraid  of 
losing  other  beasts.  Jesus  would  not  stay  with 
them,  as  they  did  not  want  him.  He  had  come 
in  a  ship  over  the  water,  and  he  got  into  a  ship 
to  go  away.  But  before  he  went  there  was  a 
poor  man  who  asked  to  go  with  him.  You  can 
guess  who  it  was.  But  Jesus  said,  "  Go  home 
to  thy  friends,  and  tell  them  what  great  things 
the  Lord  hath  done  for  thee."  So  the  man 
went  home,  and  told  everybody  in  the  town 
how  Jesus  had  made  him  gentle  and  happy.  I 
do  not  wonder  that  poor  man  wanted  to  be 
with  the  Lord  Jesus,  but  it  was  better  to  stay 
behind  and  tell  his  friends  about  him. 

Jesus  will  do  great  things  for  vou,  my  child, 
if  you  ask  him.  He  can  keep  you  from  the 
devil,  and  from  going  to  hell  to  burn  forever. 
Jesus  came  into  this  world  that  he  might  take 
us  away  from  the  devil.  Jesus  was  nailed  to  a 
cross  and  died,  that  we  might  not  be  sent  to 
hell.  Satan  is  very  angry  with  Jesus,  and  he 
wants  nobody  to  love  him.  But. if  you  pray 
to  Jesus  to  forgive  your  sins,  and  to  give  you 
his  Holy  Spirit,  Satan  will  not  be  able  to  hurt 


THE    WILD    MAN.  121 

you.  Would  you  like  to  live  with  Jesus?  It 
you  were  to  see  him,  would  you  do  as  the  poor 
man  did  ?  Would  you  wish  to  follow  Jesus,  or 
would  you  do  as  the  foolish  people  did  ?  Would 
you  beg  Jesus  to  go  away  ?  Ask  the  Lord 
Jesus  now  to  come  into  your  heart;  say, 
"  Come,  Lord  Jesus." 

This  history  may  be  found  in  Matthew  8  : 
28,  to  the  end  ;  Mark  5;  1-20;  Luke  8:  26-40. 


I  hate  the  Tempter,  and  his  charms, 
I  hate  his  flattering  breath  ; 

The  serpent  takes  a  thousand  forms 
To  cheat  our  souls  to  death. 

Now  he  persuades  :  "  How  easy  'tis 
To  walk  the  road  to  heaven  ;" 

Anon  he  swells  our  sins,  and  cries, 
"  They  cannot  be  forgiven." 

Thus  he  supports  his  cruel  throne 

By  mischief  and  deceit; 
And  drags  the  sons  of  Adam  down 

To  darkness  and  the  pit. 
11 


THE 

CHILD  WHO  DIED  AND  LIVED  AGAIN. 

Did  you  ever  see  a,  person  who  was  dead  ? 
Perhaps  you  have  seen  one  of  your  own  bro- 
thers and  sisters  lying  on  a  death-bed.  What 
a  change  takes  place  when  we  die !  No  more 
breath  comes  out  of  the  mouth,  no  color  is 
seen  on  the  cheeks  ;  the  eye  can  look  on  us  no 
longer,  nor  the  tongue  speak  to  us ;  the  body 
soon  grows  cold  and  stiff;  it  has  no  more  feel- 
ing than  the  ground  on  which  we  tread.  And 
why  ?  Because  the  soul  is  gone  out  of  the 
body.  While  the  soul  or  spirit  is  in  us,  we  are 
alive  ;  but  when  it  is  gone  out,  then  we  are 
dead.  The  soul  can  never  die,  but  the  body 
is  only  made  of  dust,  and  it  soon  crumbles 
away  and  becomes  dust  again. 

No  one  can  make  a  dead  person  alive  again. 
Yet  once  there  was  a  man  in  this  world  who 
made  dead  people  alive.  Who  was  that  man  ? 
He  was  called  Jesus ;  he  was  not  only  a  man. 
he  was  God,  too ;  he  was  the  Son  of  God. 
Most  people  would  not  believe  that  he  was  the 
Son  of  God,  though  he  said  he  wTas.  Yet  we 
are  sure  he  said  true,  for  if  he  had  been  a 
wicked  man  he  could  not  have  made  deadpeo- 


THE    CHILD    WHO    DIED,    ETC.  1 23 

pie  alive  again.  God  his  Father  was  with  him, 
and  this  was  the  reason  he  did  such  wonderful 
things.  One  day  a  rich  man  came  to  Jesus, 
and  fell  down  at  his  feet,  and  begged  him  to 
come  to  his  house.  He  said, "  My  little  daugh- 
ter is  dying."  He  was  very  unhappy,  he  loved 
his  little  girl  very  much,  and  she  was  his  only 
child.  His  name  was  Jairus,  but  I  do  not 
know  the  name  of  his  little  girl.  I  do  know 
her  age,  she  was  twelve  years  old.  The  fa- 
ther thought  if  Jesus  only  put  his  hands  upon 
her  he  could  make  her  well. 

The  Son  of  God  was  very  kind  to  people  m 
trouble.  He  went  with  the  father,  and  a  great 
crowd  followed  him.  As  he  went  along  the 
road,  he  was  pressed  on  every  side  by  those 
who  wanted  to  see  him  and  to  hear  what  he 
said. 

Before  he  reached  the  rich  man's  house, 
some  people  came  and  said  to  the  father,  "  Thy 
daughter  is  dead."  They  told  him  it  was  now  of 
no  use  for  Jesus  to  come.  They  little  knew 
what  he  could  do ;  but  Jesus  told  the  Father 
not  to  be  afraid,  for  she  should  be  made  well. 

When  he  came  to  the  house,  he  only  allowed 
three  of  his  friends  to  come  in  with  him. 
Their  names  were  Peter,  James  and  John. 
There  was  k  great  noise  and  bustle  in  the  house ; 
there  were  men  playing  music,  and  people 
weeping  and  crying  out  with  loud  voices  be- 
cause the  girl  was  dead.  When  Jesus  came 
into  the  room  where  she  was  lying,  he  said 


124  THE    CHILD    WHO    EIED 

to  these  people,  "  Why  make  ye  this  ado  and 
weep?  The  damsel  is  not  dead  but  sleepeth." 
Then  they  began  to  laugh  at  him  for  they 
knew  the  child  was  dead.  Why  did  Jesus  say 
she  slept?  Because  she  was  soon  to  be  made 
alive.     Her  death  was  like  sleep. 

Jesus  would  not  let  the  people  who  mocked 
stay  in  the  room,  but  he  let  the  girl's  father 
and  mother  be  there,  and  his  own  three  friends. 
There  were  just  these  five  in  the  room  with 
him  when  he  went  to  the  bed  and  took  hold  of 
the  girl's  hand,  and  said,  "  Damsel,  I  say  unto 
thee,  arise."  Immediately  her  spirit  (or  her 
soul)  came  again  into  her  body.  Then  she 
was  alive.  She  was  now  quite  well ;  she  was 
not  weak  now,  as  she  had  been;  she  got  up  out 
of  her  bed  and  walked  about.  Then  Jesus  de- 
sired that  something  might  be  given  her  to  eat. 
Her  parents  were  very  much  surprised.  They 
had  been  afraid  that  Jesus  would  not  be  able 
to  make  her  alive.  They  did  not  know  he 
could  do  every  thing.  He  made  all  our  bodies 
and  gave  us  souls,  and  one  day  he  will  call  all 
the  dead  people  out  of  their  graves. 

I  wonder  whether  that  young  girl  loved 
Jesus.  She  was  old  enough  to  understand 
what  he  said.  At  twelve  years  old,  children 
can  understand  almost  as  well  as  men  and 
women  can ;  they  learn  more  quickly,  and  re- 
member better.  Though  they  love  play  still,  yet 
they  have  a  great  deal  of  sense.  Some  chil- 
dren at  twelve  years  old  begin  to  take  great 


AND    LIVED    AGAIN.  125 

pains  with  their  learning;  then  they  get  on 
very  fast.  Some  begin  to  be  very  useful ;  they 
can  do  more  now  than  take  care  of  the  baby, 
or  run  upon  errands.  If  they  are  steady,  and 
tell  no  lies,  they  are  trusted  and  get  on  well  in 
the  world. 

Some  children  at  twelve  years  old  think  about 
their  souls,  and  say,  "  What  would  become  of 
me  if  I  were  to  die  ?"  They  go  and  hear  ser- 
mons, and  they  can  understand  them.  They 
look  in  the  Bible,  and  they  can  understand  a 
great  deal  which  they  read.  Then  some  begin  to 
pray,  and  to  say,  "Merciful  God,  give  me  thy 
Holy  Spirit,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ." 

But  there  are  some  who,  at  twelve  years  old, 
will  mind  their  parents  no  longer.  They  say, 
"  We  are  not  little  babies  now,  we  will  do  as 
we  please."  They  forget  all  the  kindness  their 
parents  have  shown  them  for  twelve  years,  and 
they  forget  the  words  that  God  has  spoken, 
"  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother." 

You  can  read  the  history  of  the  daughter  of 
Jairus  in  your  Bible,  in  Mark  5,  verses  23, 24, 
and  35  to  end ;  Luke  8  :  41,  42,  and  49  to  end. 
11* 


126  THE    CHILD    WHO    DIED,    ETC. 

THE  DYING  CHILD. 

Why  do  you  weep  ? 

I  am  falling  asleep, 
And  Jesus  my  Shepherd, 

Is  watching  his  sheep; 
His  arm  is  beneath  me, 

His  eye  is  above ; 
His  Spirit  within  me 

Says,  "  Rest  in  my  love  : 

With  blood  I  have  bought  the?, 

And  washed  thee  from  sin  ; 
With  care  I  have  brought  the« 

My  fold  to  be  in ; 
Refreshed  by  still  waters, 

In  green  pastures  fed, 
Thy  day  has  gone  by — 

I  am  making  thy  bed," 


THE  LANCING  GIRL. 

A  long  time  ago,  there  was  a  young  girl  who 
could  dance  very  well.  Her  name  was  Salome. 
Her  parents  were  rich  and  great,  but  they  did 
not  love  or  fear  God,  and  they  had  brought  up 
their  child  in  a  foolish,  wicked  manner.  Her 
uncle  was  a  king.  His  name  was  Herod. 
One  day,  king  Herod  made  a  great  supper  to 
his  lords  and  captains.  It  was  his  birthday, 
and  this  was  the  way  in  which  he  kept  the 
day. 

While  the  lords  were  eating  and  drinking, 
and  making  merry,  in  came  a  young  girl. 
What  business  had  a  young  girl  to  come  in  at 
such  a  time  ?  She  ought  to  have  been  at  home 
with  her  mother.  •  It  was  Salome  who  came 
in.  She  began  to  dance  before  the  lords.  Her 
uncle  was  much  delighted  with  her  dancing, 
and  so  were  the  lords.  But  oh,  what  a  bold 
girl  she  was!  She  ought  to  have  been  asham- 
ed to  dance  before  all  those  gentlemen.  It  was 
her  mother  who  had  brought  her  up  in  this 
wicked  manner. 

Her  uncle  Herod  wished  to  reward  her  for 
dancing,  and  he  said,  "  Ask  of  me  whatsoever 
thou  wilt,  and  I  will  give  it  thee."  Was  He- 
rod a  kind  uncle  ?     It  is  not  kind  to  encourage 


128  THE    DANCING    GIRL. 

the  young  in  foolish  ways.  I  cannot  call  him 
kind.  What  should  you  think  Salome  would 
wish  to  have?  Some  children  would  have 
asked  for  a  doll,  some  for  a  new  frock, 
some  would  have  asked  to  ride  out  with 
their  uncle  the  next  day,  and  some  would  have 
asked  for  a  holiday.  But  you  could  never 
guess  what  Salome  asked  for.  She  knew  not 
herself  what  to  ask  for,  but  she  ran  to  her 
mother  and  told  her  what  the  king  had  said. 

Now  her  mother  was  a  very  wicked  woman 
indeed,  much  more  wicked  than  King  Herod. 
Her  name  was  Herodias.  She  soon  told  the 
little  girl  what  to  ask  her  uncle  for. 

There  was  a  good  man  shut  up  in  prison. 
Why  had  he  been  put  in  prison  ?  He  was  not 
a  thief,  or  a  murderer ;  he  had  done  nothing 
wrong,  but  he  had  offended  Herod?  How? 
He  had  told  the  king  of  his  wicked  ways. 
The  king  in  anger  had  shut  him  up,  but  he  did 
not  intend  to  kill  this  good  man  ;  he  was  afraid  of 
doing  that.  Now  Herodias  hated  this  holy  man 
very  much,  and  she  told  her  daughter  to  ask 
the  king  to  give  her  the  head  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist in  a  great  dish.  Oh,  what  a  dreadful  thing 
to  ask  for !  I  wonder  the  girl  could  do  it.  It 
was  right  in  her  to  ask  her  mother's  advice, 
but  when  she  heard  her  mother  speak  such 
wicked  words,  she  ought  to  have  said,  "Oh, 
mother,  I  cannot  ask  for  that  good  man's  head  ; 
let  me  rather  ask.  that  he  may  be  let  out  of  prison. " 
But  Salome  was  quite  ready  to  do  what  her 


THE    DAXCIXG    GIRL.  129 

mother  wished ;  she  ran  quickly  back  to 
the  king,  and  said,  "  Give  me  the  head  of 
John  the  Baptist  in  a  dish."  The  king 
was  very  sorry  to  hear  this  speech,  but  he 
thought  to  himself,  "I  must  keep  my  promise  ; 
I  have  said  I  would  give  Salome  what- 
ever she  asked,  and  I  must  do  it;  if  I  do 
not,  the  lords  sitting  at  the  table  will  laugh  at 
me."  What  a  foolish  man  Herod  was  !  He 
ought  not  to  keep  a  promise  to  do  a  wicked 
thing.  It  is  better  that  men  should  laugh  at 
us,  than  that  God  should  be  angry.  Herod  im- 
mediately commanded  a  man  to  go  and  cut  off 
the  head  of  John  the  Baptist.  The  man  went, 
and  with  his  sword  cut  it  oft'. 

Do  you  think  John  was  frightened  when  the 
man  came  with  the  sword  to  kill  him?  Oh, 
no ;  I  am  sure  he  was  ready  to  die,  for  he  knew 
that  God  had  pardoned  all  his  sins  and  that  he 
would  take  him  to  heaven. 

His  head  was  placed  in  a  dish,  and  given  to 
the  cruel  girl.  How  could  she  bear  the  sight 
of  that  bleeding  throat !  She  carried  the  dish 
to  her  mother.  I  do  not  know  what  that 
wicked  woman  did  with  the  bloody  head.  No 
doubt  she  was  pleased  to  look  upon  it,  and 
to  think  that  the  tongue  that  used  to  speak 
against  sin  could  speak  no  longer.  But  she  will 
not  be  pleased  at  the  last  day,  when  the  Lord 
Jesus  comes  to  judge  the  world.  Jesus  once 
died  for  sinners  upon  the  cross,  but  when  ha 


Loi)  THE    DANCING    GIRL. 

comes  again  he  will  punish  those  who  go  on  in 
their  sins. 

What  became  of  the  body  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist? His  friends  came  to  the  prison  and 
asked  for  his  body,  and  they  took  it  and  laid  it 
in  a  grave;  and  then  they  went  and  told  the  Lord 
Jesus  all  about  the  death  of  John,  for  Jesus 
was  then  walking  about  this  world,  though  now 
he  is  in  heaven  with  God  his  Father,  and  the 
soul  of  John  is  with  him  there.  One  day  Jesus 
will  call  the  body  of  John  out  of  the  grave 
where  he  is  laid,  and  he  will  give  him  a  new 
body,  all  glorious,  that  will  never  die. 

If  you  love  Jesus,  you  will  be  happy  for  ever 
and  ever.  Perhaps  you  may  die  when  you 
are  young;  perhaps  wicked  people"  may  shut 
you  up  in  prison  and  kill  you,  but  you  need 
not  be  afraid. 

You  may  read  this  history  in  your  Bible,  in 
Matthew  14:  6-12;  Mark  6  :  21-29. 


Happy  the  children  who  are  gone 
To  live  with  Jesus  Christ  in  peace, 

Who  stand  around  his  glorious  throne, 
Redeemed  by  blood  and  sav'd  by  grace 

The  Saviour,  whom  they  loved  below, 
Hath  kindly  wiped  their  tears  away  j 

No  sin,  no  sorrow,  there  they  know, 
But  dwell  in  one  eternal  day. 


THE    DANCING    GIRL.  13 J 

There  to  their  golden  harps  they  sing, 
While  tens  of  thousands  join  their  songs, 

Hosannas  to  the  immortal  King, 
To  whom  immortal  praise  belongs. 

O  glorious  Lord,  and  when  shall  we 
Be  brought  with  them  in  bliss  to  joi.v 

Thy  lovely  countenance  to  see, 
And  sing  thy  mercies  all  divine  ? 


THE  SUPPER  ON  THE  GRASS. 


It  is  very  pleasant  to  feed  hungry  people. 
Teachers  are  very  much  pleased  to  see  poor 
children  at  a  feast,  drinking  milk  or  tea,  and 
eating  cake,  or  bread  and  butter.  They  like 
to  see  them  sitting  on  the  grass  in  summer,  and 
the  kettle  boiling  on  a  fire  of  sticks.  Kind 
teachers  like  to  hear  their  little  scholars  sing- 
ing thanks  to  God  in  some  sweet  verse  that 
they  have  learned.  This  is  a  verse  that  I  have 
heard  children  sing  before  their  meals  : 

M  Be  present  at  our  table,  Lord, 
Be  here  and  everywhere  adored  ; 
These  creatures  bless,  and  grant  that  we 
May  feast  in  paradise  with  thee." 


THE    SUPPER    OX    THE    GRASS.  133 

Bread  and  milk  are  God's  creatures,  for  God 
created  them.  You  are  his  living  creatures. 
I  hope  you  may  live  with  him  in  heaven  in 
paradise.  And  this  is  another  verse  that  I 
have  heard  children  sing  after  their  meals : 

"  We  thank  thee,  Lord,  for  this  our  food, 
But  more  because  of  Jesus'  blood  ; 
Let  manna  to  our  souls  be  given, 
The  bread  of  life  sent  down  from  heaven." 

Do  you  know  that  the  Son  of  God  once 
came  down  to  be  a  man,  and  to  live  in  this 
world  ?  He  was  called  Jesus  Christ.  He 
once  fed  a  great  many  hungry  people.  These 
people  had  come  from  a  great  way  off;  they 
had  left  their  cottages,  and  had  walked  among 
the  green  hills.  Many  of  the  mothers  had 
brought  their  little  children  with  them.  All 
day  long  the  people  had  been  among  the  hills. 
They  had  seen  Jesus  curing  sick  people,  and 
they  had  heard  him  talk  about  God  his  Father 
in  heaven.  They  liked  to  be  near  him  ;  they 
stayed  till  it  was  getting  dark,  and  till  they 
were  quite  hungry.  They  had  not  brought 
enough  food  with  them,  and  there  were  no 
houses  nor  shops  there.  What  could  they  do  ? 
They  had  a  great  way  to  go  home,  and  the 
little  children  would  be  very  tired,  and  would 
be  crying  for  their  supper,  and  the  mothers 
would  not  be  able  to  carry  them,  and  even  the 
fathers  would  be  quite  weary.  Jesus  was 
12 


134  THE    SUPPER    ON    THE    GRASS. 

very  kind.  He  pitied  the  poor  people.  He 
said  to  one  of  his  friends  named  Philip, 
"  Whence  shall  we  buy  bread,  that  these  may 
eat  ?"  Philip  was  surprised  that  his  Master 
should  talk  of  buying  bread  for  so  many  peo- 
ple, for  there  were  more  people  than  you  ever 
saw  at  church ;  there  were  enough  to  fill  ten 
churches.  But  Jesus  did  not  mean  to  buy 
bread  for  them ;  he  had  another  plan  in  his 
mind.  His  friends  told  him  to  send  the  people 
into  the  villages  near,  that  they  might  buy 
bread  for  themselves.  But  Jesus  said,  "No, 
they  need  not  go  away.  How  many  loaves 
have  ye?"  One  of  his  friends,  named  An- 
drew, said,  "  We  have  only  five  loaves  and  two 
little  fishes ;  but  what  are  they  among  so 
many  ?"  You  know,  dear  children,  how  soon 
five  loaves  are  eaten  up.  A  school  of  fifty 
children  would  soon  get  through  five  loaves. 
But  Jesus  told  his  friends  to  make  the  people 
sit  down  on  the  grass.  Soon  the  green  grass 
was  covered  with  people  sitting  in  rows,  as 
children  do  at  school,  fifty  men  in  every  row. 
There  were  in  all  one  hundred  rows  of  men, 
besides  women  and  children.  How  many  men 
were  there  ?     Five  thousand. 

Then  Jesus  took  the  five  loaves  and  the  two 
fishes,  and  looked  up  to  heaven  and  gave 
thanks  to  his  Father,  and  brake  the  bread,  and 
gave  a  piece  to  each  of  his  friends,  and  a  little 
piece  of  the  fishes.  Then  the  twelve  friends 
went  to  the  men  sitting  on  the  grass,  and  gave 


THE    SUPPER    ON    THE    GRASS.  135 

some  to  each.  How  surprised  everybody  was 
to  find  that  this  little  bread  was  enough  for  the 
suppers  of  all  these  people — yes,  and  more  than 
enough.  This  was  the  great  wonder  that 
Jesus  did,  for  he  is  God  and  can  do  every- 
thing.    He  made  us,  and  keeps  us  alive. 

The  people  could  not  eat  all  the  bread.  A 
great  deal  was  left.  What  was  done  with  it  ? 
Jesus  would  not  let  it  be  wasted  ;  he  told  his 
friends  to  take  some  baskets,  and  to  gather  up 
the  bits  of  bread  and  fish.  Twelve  baskets 
were  filled  with  these  bits.  Everybody  was 
astonished  to  see  what  had  been  done  that 
evening  ;  they  had  never  seen  anything  like  it 
before.  That  evening  they  talked  a  great  deal 
about  Jesus,  and  said  they  felt  sure  that  God 
had  sent  him  into  the  world.  And  so  he  had. 
Do  you  know  why  ?  Was  it  to  teach  people 
that  Jesus  came  down  here  ?  It  was  not  only 
to  teach  them  as  I  teach  you,  it  was  to  do 
something  else  that  I  could  not  do  for  you — it 
was  to  die  for  them.  Men  are  wicked ;  they 
have  offended  God,  and  they  deserve  to  die. 
But  God  is  kind  and  merciful,  and  he  gave  up 
his  only  Son,  and  said  Jesus  should  die  instead 
of  men — and  Jesus  has  died ;  he  was  nailed  to 
a  cross  of  wood.  Do  you  not  think  those  lit- 
tle children  loved  him  who  sat  on  the  grass  by 
the  water-side,  and  who  ate  the  bread  that 
Jesus  gave  ?  Yes,  I  think  they  did.  And 
will  not  you  love  him  too,  now  that  you 
hear  he    died    for  you?     He   is   alive   now. 


136  THE    SUPPER    ON    THE    GRASS. 

He  is  sitting  in  Heaven  on  his  Father's 
right  hand;  he  knows  whether  you  love  him; 
he  gives  you  food  every  day,  for  it  is  he  makes 
the  rain  to  fall  and  the  sun  to  shine  upon  the 
corn  growing  in  the  fields  ;  he  puts  it  into  the 
hearts  of  rich  people  to  give  bread  to  little 
fatherless  children.  But  if  you  love  Jesus,  you 
will  try  to  please  him.  He  hates  wickedness. 
Do  not  swear,  do  not  steal,  do  not  tell  lies,  do 
not  fall  into  a  passion,  do  not  call  names,  do 
not  be  rude,  or  pert,  or  disobedient.  Be  gen- 
tle, like  the  lambs  that  sport  in  the  spring 
among  the  buttercups ;  be  gentle,  like  the 
doves  that  moan  so  softly  among  the  trees. 
Jesus  is  gentle,  like  a  lamb.  The  Holy  Spirit 
is  gentle,  like  a  dove.  Jesus  calls  the  children 
who  love  him,  his  lambs ;  and  like  a  kind 
shepherd,  he  carries  them  in  his  arms. 

Here  is  a  verse  out  of  the  Bible  about  Jesus : 
"  He  shall  gather  the  lambs  with  his  arms,  and 
carry  them  in  his  bosom/' — Isa.  40  :  11. 

You  may  read  about  the  five  loaves  in  four 
parts  of  the  Testament:  Matt.  14:  15-21; 
Mark  6:  35-43;  Luke  9:  12-17;  John  6: 
3-14. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  STORM. 

There  are  a  great  many  troubles  in  this  life. 
— ask  your  father  and  your  mother  whether 
this  is  true.  Your  father  will  say,  "  I  have  had 
a  great  many  troubles ;"  perhaps  he  will  say, 
"I  have  found  it  hard  to  get  bread  for  my 
children."  Your  mother  will  say,  "  I  have  had 
a  great  deal  of  sorrow  in  bringing  up  my  lit- 
tle family." 

My  dear  child,  have  you  had  any  troubles  ? 
I  am  sure  you  have  had  some.  Have  you  ever 
felt  great  pain  ?  Have  you  lost  a  little  brother 
or  sister  ?  Have  you  got  into  disgrace  ?  Have 
you  been  punished  for  your  faults? 

There  is  one  Friend  to  whom  every  one 
may  go  in  every  trouble.  It  is  Jesus,  the  Son 
of  God.  When  we  are  unhappy,  if  we  cry 
unto  him,  he  will  hear  us  and  help  us.  Once 
he  lived  upon  this  earth,  and  was  a  man.  Now 
he  is  in  heaven,  and  he  is  a  man  still,  as  well 
as  God. 

I  will  tell  you  how  he  helped  some  of  his 
friends  out  of  trouble  when  he  lived  in  this 
world.  His  friends  were  called  disciples.  One 
evening  they  went  into  a  ship.  Jesus  did 
not  go  with  them  ;  he  stayed  where  he  was, 
12* 


138  CHRIST    IN    THE    STORM. 

and  spent  the  night  alone  on  the  top  of  a 
mountain,  praying  to  his  Father.  God  was  his 
Father.  The  disciples  were  in  their  little  ship 
on  the  water,  when  the  wind  began  to  blow 
very  hard  indeed.  The  waves  rose  high,  and 
the  ship  was  tossed  about.  Every  moment 
the  poor  men  were  afraid  that  the  water  would 
fill  their  ship,  and  that  they  should  sink  to  the 
bottom  of  the  sea. 

All  night  long,  the  disciples  were  in  sad  dis- 
tress, trying  with  all  their  might  to  row  their 
ship  to  land,  but  all  they  could  do  was  of  no 
use.  At  last  they  saw  a  man  walking  on  the 
sea.  There  he  was  in  the  midst  of  the  great 
waves,  walking  as  on  the  dry  land.  He  went 
faster  than  the  ship,  and  seemed  as  if  he  would 
pass  by  it.  The  disciples  did  not  know  who 
it  was.  They  thought  it  could  not  be  a  man 
with  a  body  like  ours ;  they  supposed  it  was  a 
spirit,  who  has  no  body.  They  were  very 
much  frightened,  and  they  cried  out  in  their 
trouble.  Then  they  heard  a  voice  saying,  "  It 
is  I;  be  not  afraid."  Whose  voice  was  that  ? 
You  know,  and  they  knew ;  it  was  the  voice  of 
Jesus.  Though  the  winds  were  whistling  and 
the  waves  roaring,  his  voice  could  be  heard. 

One  of  the  disciples,  named  Peter,  said, 
"  Lord,  if  it  be  thou,  bid  me  come  unto  thee 
on  the  water."  Jesus  said,  "  Come."  So  Petei 
got  out  of  the  ship  and  walked  on  the  water  to 
go  to  Jesus.  He  believed  that  Jesus  could 
help  him  to  walk  on  the  water,  and  Jesus  did  help 


CHRIST    IN    THE    STORM.  139 

him.  But  when  Peter  saw  how  high  the  wind 
was,  he  began  to  be  afraid.  This  was  wrong. 
He  ought  to  have  trusted  in  Jesus.  Soon  he 
felt  that  he  was  sinking,  and  he  cried  out, 
"  Lord,  save  me."  Jesus  heard  that  short 
prayer  ;  he  was  very  near,  and  he  stretched  out 
his  hand,  and  caught  hold  of  Peter. 

Trusting  in  God  is  called  faith.  Peter  had 
a  little  faith,  but  not  much.  So  he  was  able 
to  walk  on  the  water  a  little  way,  but  not  far. 
Jesus  went  into  the  ship  and  took  Peter  with 
him,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  there  the  wind  left 
off  blowing.  Then  all  the  disciples  came  round 
him  and  worshipped  him,  saying,  "  Truly  thou 
art  the  Son  of  God." 

It  is  this  Jesus  who  can  help  you  in  your 
troubles.  Will  .you  trust  him  ?  Do  not  be 
like  Peter  and  only  trust  him  a  little  while,  but 
go  on  trusting  in  him,  and  you  will  find  that 
he  will  keep  you  safe  and  make  you  happy. 
He  forgives  sins,  which  no  one  else  can  do, 
because  he  died  upon  the  cross  to  save  us  from 
our  sins.  When  we  are  dying  he  will  not 
leave  us  if  we  trust  in  him,  but  he  will  comfort 
us  and  take  us  to  heaven. 

This  history  you  will  find  in  Matthew  14  : 
22-33 ;  Mark  6  :  45-52, 


140  CHRIST    IN    THE    STORM. 


I  lay"  my  sins  on  Jesus. 

The  spotless  Lamb  of  God  ; 
He  bears  them  all,  and  frees  us 

From  the  accursed  load 

I  bring  my  guilt  to  Jesus, 
To  wash  my  crimson  stains 

White  in  his  blood  most  precious^ 
Till  not  a  spot  remains. 

I  lay  my  wants  on  Jesus, 
All  fulness  dwells  in  him, 

He  healeth  my  diseases, 
He  doth  my  soul  redeem. 

I  lay  my  griefs  on  Jesus, 
My  burdens  and  my  cares ; 

He  from  them  all  releases, 
He  all  my  sorrows  shares. 

I  love  the  name  of  Jesus — 
Immanuel,  Christ,  the  Lord! 

Like  fragrance  on  the  breezes, 
His  name  is  spread  abroad. 

I  long  to  be  like  Jesus — 
Meek,  loving,  lowly,  mild ; 

I  long  to  be  like  Jesus — 
The  Father's  holy  chill. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  STORM.         141 

I  long  to  be  with  Jesus, 

Amid  the  heavenly  throng, 
To  sing  with  saints  his  praises, 

To  learn  the  angels'  song. 


MY  FATHER'S  AT  THE  HELM. 
'Twas  when  the  sea  with  horrid  roar, 

A  little  bark  assail'd, 
And  pallid  fear,  with  awful  power, 

O'er  each  on  board  prevail'd ; 

Save  one — the  captain's  darling  child, 
Who  fearless  view'd  the  storm, 

And,  playful,  with  composure  smil'd 
At  danger's  threat'ning  form. 

"  Why  sporting  thus,"  a  seaman  cries, 
"  Whilst  sorrows  overwhelm  ?" 

"  Why  yield  to  grief  ?"  the  boy  replies, 
"  My  father's  at  the  helm  !" 

Safe  in  his  hands  whom  seas  obey 

When  swelling  surges  rise, 
He  turns  the  darkest  night  to  day, 

And  brightens  lowering  skies. 

Then  upward  look  ;  howe'er  distress'd, 

Jesus  will  guide  thee  home 
To  that  eternal  port  of  rest 

Where  storms  shall  never  come. 


THE  PRAYING  MOTHER. 


Can  we  pray  too  much?  No,  we  cannot 
God  likes  to  hear  us  pray ;  he  is  never  tired 
of  listening  to  us.  Is  he  not  kind  ?  Men  are 
soon  tired  of  hearing  beggars  ask  for  money, 
but  men  are  not  like  God. 

When  Jesus  the  Son  of  God  was  in  this 
world,  he  cured  a  great  many  people  who 
were  sick  ;  he  just  spoke,  and  they  were  made 
well..  Sometimes  he  wished  to  be  alone,  for 
Jesus  was  a  man  as  well  as  God,  and  he  had 
need  of  food  and  sleep.  One  day  he  went 
into  a  house,  and  he  did  not  want  any  body  to 
know  where  he  was  gone.     But  people  soon 


THE    PRAYING    MOTHER.  143 

asked  each  other  where  he  was,  and  they 
found  out  the  place. 

There  was  one  poor  woman  who  longed 
very  much  to  see  him.  I  do  not  think  she 
had  ever  seen  him,  but  she  had  heard  of  him. 
She  had  been  brought  up  to  worship  idols  ; 
she  did  not  belong  to  the  people  of  Israel,  who 
worshipped  the  true  God.  No,  she  was  a  poor 
heathen,  but  Jesus  cares  for  the  poor  heathen ; 
and  you  will  see  how  kind  he  was  at  last  to 
this  woman. 

She  had  a  little  girl  very  ill  at  home.  A 
wicked  spirit,  called  a  devil,  tormented  her, 
The  mother  knew  that  Jesus  could  make  her 
little  daughter  well,  so  she  went  to  the  house 
where  he  was.  I  do  not  know  whether  Jesus 
was  still  in  the  house.  I  think  he  had  come 
out  of  it,  and  was  walking.  His  friends  were 
with  him.  There  were  twelve  men  who  went 
about  with  Jesus  from  place  to  place,  and  he 
called  them  his  friends,  and  his  disciples. 

When  the  poor  woman  saw  Jesus,  she  cried 
out,  "  Have  mercy  on  me,  O  Lord,  thou  son 
of  David ;  my  daughter  is  grievously  vexed 
with  a  devil,"  Why  did  she  call  Jesus  the 
son  of  David?  David  was  a  great  king,  who 
had  long  been  dead,  and  Jesus  was  one  of  his 
children's  children.  Jesus  liked  to  hear  peo- 
ple call  him  the  son  of  David. 

What  did  he  say  to  this  poor  woman,  when 
she  seemed  so  unhappy  ?  He  said  nothing  at 
all ;    so  she  went  on  crying  out  for  mercy. 


144  THE    PRAYING    MOTHER. 

The  disciples  did  not  like  to  hear  the  poor 
woman  crying  out,  '  Have  mercy  on  me!" 
As  they  walked  along  with  Jesus,  the  poor 
woman  followed  them  with  her  cries.  So  the 
disciples  went  to  Jesus,  and  said,-" Send  her 
away,  for  she  crieth  after  us."  How  unkind 
this  was !  How  selfish  the  disciples  were ! 
Instead  of  begging  their  Master  to  have  mercy 
on  the  poor  mother,  they  wanted  him  to  tell 
her  to  go  away.  They  knew  she  was  a  poor 
heathen,  so  they  despised  her. 

But  Jesus  did  not  despise  her  ;  he  loved  her 
very  much  indeed.  Yet  at  first  he  seemed 
unkind,  for  he  said,  "  I  am  not  sent  unto  the 
lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel."  This  poor 
woman  was  not  an  Israelite.  Did  she  go 
away  when  she  heard  Jesus  speak  in  this  way  ? 
No,  she  did  not ;  she  came  nearer  than  before ; 
she  fell  at  his  feet  and  worshipped  him,  saying, 
'•'  Lord,  help  me."  What  a  short  prayer — 
only  three  words !  but  it  came  from  the  heart ; 
it  was  such  a  prayer  as  God  likes  to  hear. 
Yet  Jesus  still  seemed  unkind,  for  he  said,  "  It 
is  not  meet  to  take  the  children's  bread,  and 
to  cast  it  to  dogs."  Did  he  mean,  that  this 
poor  woman  was  a  dog,  and  that  the  people 
of  Israel  were  his  children?  Oh,  no,  he  did 
not  really  think  this  woman  was  a  dog;  he 
only  spoke  so,  that  she  might  go  on  praying. 
She  made  a  very  sweet  answer  this  time.  She 
said,  "  The  dogs  under  the  table  eat  of  the 
children's   crumbs."     Was  not   that  a  meek 


THE    PRAYING     MOTHER.  145 

answer,  and  a  wise  answer  ?  She  did  not 
say  she  was  not  a  dog;  she  meant  to  say, 
"  If  I  am  a  dog,  may  I  not  have  crumbs  ? 
Though  you  love  the  people  of  Israel  best, 
yet  you  will  have  pity  on  a  poor  heathen 
like  me."     This  is  what  she  meant  to  say. 

Jesus  left  her  waiting  no  longer.  He  said 
to  her,  "  O  woman,  great  is  thy  faith ;  go  thy 
way,  the  devil  is  gone  out  of  thy  daughter." 
So  the  woman  went  home,  and  found  her 
daughter  lying  on  the  bed.  The  devil  had 
left  the  girl  at  the  very  moment  when  Jesus 
spoke.  Then  the  girl  grew  quiet  and  easy, 
but  it  seems  she  was  weak  and  tired,  and 
wanted  rest. 

Could  the  mother  ever  forget  what  Jesus 
had  said,  "  O  woman,  great  is  thy  faith  ?'* 
Jesus  had  praised  her.  Why  was  he  so  much 
pleased  with  her?  Because  she  believed  that 
he  was  kind  and  merciful.  Jesus  likes  to 
have  us  believe  that  he  is  kind.  Whatever 
happens,  we  ought  always  to  think  "  Jesus  is 
kind."  Did  he  not  die  for  us  on  the  cross  ? 
Does  he  wish  to  hurt  us  ?  Are  you  in  great 
pain  ?  Still  think  "  Jesus  is  kind."  Then  go 
and  pray  to  him.  Is  your  father  ill,  and  not 
able  to  work  ?  Is  your  little  baby  brother, 
whom  you  dote  on,  lying  in  his  coffin  ?  Are 
your  clothes  ragged?  Is  there  nothing  for 
dinner  but  a  cold  potatoe  or  a  dry  crust  ? 
Still,  remember  "Jesus  is  kind;  he  will  hear 
you,  if  you  prav  to  him." 
13 


146  THE    PRAYING    MOTHER. 

You  may  read  the  history  of  the  praying 
mother  in  Matthew  15:  21-28.;  Mark  7: 
24-30. 


Who  are  they  whose  little  feet, 
Pacing  life's  dark  journey  through. 

Now  have  reach'd  that  heavenly  seat 
They  have  ever  kept  in  view  ? 

M  I  from  Greenland's  frozen  land," 
"  I  from  India's  sultry  plain," 

M  I  from  Afric's  barren  sand," 
"  I  from  islands  of  the  main  j" 

"  All  our  earthly  journey  past," 
u  Every  tear  and  pain  gone  by," 

*  Here  together  met  at  last," 
"  At  the  portal  of  the  sky." 

Each  the  welcome  "  Come"  awaits 
Conquerors  over  death  and  sin  : 

Lift  your  heads,  ye  golden  gates, 
Let  the  little  travellers  in. 


CHRIST    SHINING    ON    THE    MOUN- 
TAIN 

Did  you  ever  try  to  think  how  the  Lord 
Jesus  looked  when  he  was  walking  about  this 
world  ?  There  is  no  picture  of  him  to  be  seen, 
but  we  find  in  the  Bible  that  he  appeared  like 
other  men.  He  was  not  bright  as  angels  are, 
neither  did  he  wear  fine  clothes,  as  princes  do. 
If  you  had  seen  him,  you  would  have  taken 
him  for  a  poor  man ;  you  could  not  have  told 
by  his  looks  that  he  was  the  Son  of  God,  that 
he  was  the  King  of  kings,  the  Creator  of  the 
world,  and  of  the  sun,  and  of  the  moon,  and  of 
all  the  stars.  We  are  quite  sure  that  there 
was  a  meek,  kind,  gentle  look  in  his  face, 
because  his  heart  was  full  of  love.  We  know, 
also,  that  he  was  sorrowful,  and  that  he  often 
shed  tears,  and  groaned,  and  prayed.  There 
must  have  been  a  look  of  sorrow  in  his  face. 

But  one  day  he  let  his  friends  see  a  wonder- 
ful change  in  him.  He  took  three  of  his  dis- 
ciples to  the  top  of  a  mountain ;  their  names 
were  Peter,  James,  and  John.  I  am  not  sure 
what  was  the  name  of  the  mountain,  but  I 
believe  it  was  called  Tabor.  When  Jesus 
wished  to  be  in  a  quiet  place,  he  often  went 


148  CIIRTST    SHJNING    ON 

to  a  mountain,  because  it  is  not  easy  to  climb 
up  high  places,  so  that  it  is  very  seldom  that 
people  come  there.  Why  did  Jesus  wish  to 
find  a  quiet  place?  Because  he  was  going  to 
pray  to  his  Father  in  heaven.  While  he  was 
praying,  the  disciples  saw  a  great  change  in 
him.  His  face  shone  like  the  sun,  and  his 
clothes  became  as  white  as  snow,  and  as  bright 
as  the  light.  There  were  never  any  clothes 
seen  on  earth  so  white  and  shining. 

Two  men  were  with  Jesus.  Where  had 
they  come  from  ?  From  heaven.  They  were 
two  men  wTho  had  lived  upon  the  earth  a  long 
while  ago,  and  who  had  been  taken  to  heaven ; 
and  now  they  were  come  down  to  talk  with 
the  Lord  Jesus.  One  of  these  men  was  named 
Moses ;  he  had  once  died,  and  God  had  buried 
him.  The  other  man  was  Elijah;  he  had 
never  died,  but  had  gone  to  heaven  in  a  chariot 
of  fire  ;  he  had  been  carried  by  bright  angels 
into  heaven.  And  what  were  these  men 
talking  about  ?  They  were  speaking  about  a 
very  sad  and  sorrowful  thing  that  would  soon 
happen — about  Jesus  being  nailed  to  the  cross 
for  our  sins.  How  sweet  it  must  be  to  listen 
to  heavenly  men,  and  to  hear  them  talk  with 
the  Son  of  God !  I  do  not  wonder  that  the 
disciples  were  pleased.  At  last  it  seemed  as 
if  these  men,  all  bright  and  glorious,  were 
going  back  to  heaven.  Then  Peter  said, 
*  Lord  it-is  good  f  )r  us   to  be  here  :  let  us 


THE    MOUNTAIN.  149 

make  three  tents ;  one  for  thee,  one  for  Moses, 
and  one  for  Elijah." 

Peter  wanted  to  have  these  heavenly  men 
always  with  him,  but  they  could  not  stay  down 
here.  Peter  did  not  know  what  he  said,  for 
he  was  very  much  afraid.  While  he  was 
speaking,  a  bright  cloud  came  over  them. 
What  could  this  cloud  be  ?  The  disciples 
were  frightened  when  they  saw  it  round  them. 
Then  a  voice  came  out  of  the  cloud,  saying, 
"  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased  ;  hear  ye  him."  Whose  voice  was 
that?  It  was  the  voice  of  God  the  Father 
The  disciples  were  afraid  when  they  heard  it, 
and  they  fell  upon  their  faces.  They  could 
not  look  at  the  brightness  of  that  cloud,  for 
God  was  there  ;  but  the  great  God  did  not 
hurt  them.  He  did  not  punish  them  for  their 
sins,  nor  say  he  would  send  them  to  hell.  No : 
he  only  commanded  them  to  hear  his  beloved 
Son.  He  sent  his  Son  into  the  world  to  save 
us,  and  if  we  believe  in  Jesus  we  shall  be 
saved. 

I  do  not  know  how  long  the  disciples  re- 
mained with  their  faces  on  the  ground,  but 
they  did  not  dare  to  look  up,  till  they  felt 
some  one  touch  them,  and  heard  a  gentle 
voice,  "Arise,  and  be  not  afraid."  Whose 
touch  was  that  ?  Whose  gentle  voice  ? 
When  the  disciples  looked  up,  they  saw 
Jesus ;  the  bright  cloud  shone  there  no 
longer.  The  disciples  looked  roufld  about, 
13* 


150  CHRIST    SHINING    ON 

but  they  could  not  see  the  two  heavenly  men  , 
there  was  no  one  but  Jesus.  They  were  not 
afraid  to  be  alone  with  him,  for  they  knew 
him  well,  and  loved  him  too.  They  walked 
down  the  mountain  with  him. 

Could  they  ever  forget  the  glorious  sight 
they  had  seen  at  the  top  ?  They  could  not, 
but  Jesus  said  to  them  as  they  walked,  "  Tell 
no  man  what  you  have  seen,  till  the  Son  of 
man  be  risen  again  from  the  dead."  Jesus 
called  himself  the  Son  of  man.  The  disciples 
did  not  know  he  would  soon  be  buried  in  a 
grave,  and  that  he  would  rise  again  in  three 
days.  •  But  they  minded  what  Jesus  said,  and 
told  no  one  about  the  brightness  on  the 
mountain,  till  after  Jesus  had  been  crucified 
and  had  come  to  life  again.  Then  they  told 
people  all  that  you  have  now  heard.  Is  it  not 
a  very  wonderful  history  ? 

Jesus  is  now  shining  as  bright  in  heaven, 
as  he  shone  on  that  mountain.  When  you 
see  him  coming  in  the  clouds,  he  will  look 
very  glorious.  Good  men  who  lived  a  long 
while  ago  will  come  with  him.  Abel,  who 
was  killed  by  his  wicked  brother  ;  Noah,  who 
was  saved  when  the  world  was  drowned ; 
Moses,  who  was  hidden  in  a  basket  when  he 
was  a  babe  ;  David,  who  sang  sweet  psalms 
and  played  upon  his  harp  ;  Elijah,  who  was 
fed  by  ravens;  Daniel,  who  was  not  eaten  by 
the  lions  in  the  den — all  of  them  will  be  there ; 
and  if  you  love  Jesus,  you  shall  stay  with  him 


THE    MOUNTAIN.  151 

for  ever,  and  you  shall  be  with  those  holy  men, 
and  with  the  holy  angels.  Oh.  how  happy 
you  will  be  !  But  those  who  do  not  love  the 
Lord,  will  be  shut  up  with  the  devil  in  a  dark 
place  for  ever  and  ever. 

You  may  read  the  history  of  Christ  on  the 
mountain  in  Matt.  17:  1-9;  Mark  9 :  2-10; 
Luke  9  :  28-38. 


Lo,  he  comes,  with  clouds  descending, 

Once  for  favor'd  sinners  slain  ; 
Thousand  thousand  saints  attending, 

Swell  the  triumphs  of  his  train  ; 
Hallelujah !     God  appears  on  earth  to  reign. 

Now  redemption,  long  expected, 

See  in  solemn  pomp  appear  ! 
All  his  saints  by  man  rejected, 

Now  shall  meet  him  in  the  air  : 
Hallelujah  !     See  the  day  of  *od  appear ! 


THE  MISERABLE  BOY 

There  is  a  wicked  creature  called  Satan,  or 
the  devil ;  he  is  not  a  man,  neither  is  he  a 
beast ;  he  is  a  spirit ;  he  has  not  a  body,  as 
you  have,  but  he  can  think — he  thinks  of 
doing  wickedness  ;  he  hates  God,  and  he  hates 
everybody ;  he  hates  you,  my  little  boy,  and 
my  little  girl — he  would  like  to  make  you  un- 
happy ;  he  is  very  unhappy  himself,  and  he 
tries  to  make  us  unhappy,  too.  One  day  God 
will  shut  him  up  in  a  dark  prison,  but  now  he 
lets  him  walk  about  this  world  ;  yet  hell  is  the 
devil's  home.  There  are  a  great  many  devils, 
and  they  help  one  another  to  do  harm.  Satan 
is  the  prince  of  the  devils,  and  tells  the  rest 
what  to  do. 

I  am  now  going  to  tell  you  of  a  poor  little 
boy  who  was  made  very  wretched  by  one  ot 
the  devils.  It  seemed  as  if  this  boy  was  mad. 
A  wicked  spirit  was  in  him,  and  tormented 
him.  This  spirit  was  deaf  and  dumb.  Some- 
times it  would  tear  the  boy,  and  make  him  cry 
out  with  pain,  and  foam  at  the  mouth,  and 
gnash  his  teeth,  and  fall  on  the  ground.  Some- 
times this  poor  child  would  rush  into  the  water 
to  drown  himself,  and  sometimes  into  the  fire 


THE    MISERABLE    BOY.  153 

to  burn  himself.  His  father  loved  him,  and 
could  not  bear  to  see  him  in  this  dreadful  state. 
But  his  father  could  not  cure  him,  nor  could 
any  doctor. 

At  last  this  poor  man  heard  that  there  was 
a  man  who  had  cured  a  great  many  people  as 
wretched  as  his  son.  This  man  was  called 
Jesus  Christ.  He  was  the  Son  of  God,  and 
had  come  down  from  heaven  to  save  us  from 
Satan  and  all  the  devils.  The  father  of  the 
boy  thought,  "  I  will  take  my  dear  son  to 
Jesus,  and  ask  him  to  cure  him." 

The  Lord  Jesus  had  some  friends  who  walked 
about  with  him,  and  these  men  were  called  his 
disciples.  The  poor  father  saw  them  first. 
Jesus  was  not  with  them ;  he  was  gone  away 
for  a  little  while  to  pray  to  God  his  Father  in 
heaven,  upon  the  top  of  a  hill.  What  could 
the  poor  man  do  now  ?  Could  the  disciples 
help  his  boy  ?  He  begged  them  to  try.  Jesus 
had  once  told  them  that  they  should  be  able  to 
cast  out  devils;  so  they  tried  to  cast  the  devil 
out  of  this  boy,  but  they  could  not.  A  great 
crowd  of  people  gathered  round  the  boy  and 
the  disciples',  and  some  wise  men  were  there, 
called  scribes ;  those  scribes  did  not  love 
Jesus,  and  they  were  always  glad  when  the 
disciples  could  not  do  wonderful  things. 

No  one  knew  when  Jesus  would  come  back. 
At  last  the  people  saw  him  coming,  and  they 
ran  to  meet  him.  How  glad  the  poor  father 
must  have  been  to  see  Jesus !     He  fell  on  hi? 


154  THE    MISERABLE    BOY. 

knees,  and  said,  "Lord,  I  beseech  thee  look 
upon  my  son,  for  he  is  my  only  child."  And 
then  he  told  him  all  about  the  boy.  Jesus 
said,  •"  Bring  thy  son  hither."  But  as  the  boy 
was  coming,  the  devil  threw  him  on  the 
ground,  and  there  the  poor  creature  lay  foam- 
ing at  the  mouth.  Ah,  that  devil  knew  who 
Jesus  was — all  the  devils  know  the  Son  of 
God,  and  are  afraid  of  him. 

The  poor  man  was  very  unhappy  to  see  his 
son  lying  in  such  pain  upon  the  ground,  and  he 
said  to  Jesus,  "  If  thou  canst  do  anything, 
have  compassion  on  us,  and  help  us."  If  the 
father  had  known  Jesus  better,  he  would  not 
have  said,  "If  thou  canst;"  he  would  have 
felt  quite  sure  that  Jesus  could  cure  him. 
Then  Jesus  asked  the  man  whether  he  believed. 
What  could  the  poor  father  say  ?  He  did  be- 
lieve a  little,  but  he  did  not  believe  as  much  as 
he  ought.  Immediately  the  man  cried  out, 
"  Lord,  I  believe ;  help  thou  mine  unbelief." 
As  he  said  this,  the  tears  came  into  his  eyes. 
Poor  man  !  I  am  sure  you  would  have  pitied 
him,  if  you  had  seen  him.  It  was  a  good 
prayer  he  made  when  he  said  to  Jesus,  "  Help 
thou  mine  unbelief."  It  showed  that  he  be- 
lieved that  Jesus  wTas  God  ;  for  who  but  God 
can  make  people  believe  ? 

While  the  Lord  was  talking  with  the  father 
more  people  came  running  to  the  place — soon 
there  would  have  been  too  great  a  crowd. 
Then  Jesus  said  to  the  devil,  "  Thou  dumb  and 


THE    MISERABLE    BOY.  155 

deaf  spirit,  I  charge  thee  come  out  of  him,  and 
enter  no  more  into  him."  This  deaf  spirit  heard 
the  words  of  Jesus  :  this  dumb  spirit  was  able 
to  cry  out ;  it  tore  the  boy,  and  came  out  of 
him.  The  people  looked  at  the  boy,  and  said, 
"  He  is  dead."  There  he  was,  lying  on  the 
ground,  and  looking  just  like  a  dead  person. 
Jesus  went  to  him,  took  his  hand,  and  lifted 
him  up.#  The  child  was  alive,  and  quite  well. 
Jesus  gave  him  to  his  father.  How  happy  that 
father  must  have  been !  Did  he  now  believe 
in  Jesus  ?  He  knew  now  that  Jesus  could 
cure  his  child. 

Afterwards  the  disciples  went  into  a  house 
with  their  dear  Master,  and  they  said,  "  Why 
could  not  we  cast  out  the  devil  ?"  Jesus  said, 
"Because  of  your  unbelief."  The  disciples 
had  not  prayed  as  they  ought,  and  so  they  did 
not  believe  as  they  ought.  Jesus  had  given 
them  the  power  to  do  wonders,  but  they  could 
not  do  them  except  when  they  believed  in  the 
Son  of  God.  Jesus  can  still  do  everything. 
He  has  died  upon  the  cross,  and  he  has  been 
put  into  a  grave ;  but  he  was  alive  again  in 
three  days,  and  went  up  to  his  Father  in 
heaven,  and  there  he  sits  at  his  right  hand,  and 
he  hears  the  prayers  of  men  in  this  world.  Do 
you  ever  pray  to  him  ?  I  hope  you  do — in  all 
your  troubles  go  to  him.  If  you  do  not  believe 
that  he  can  help  you,  say,  "  Lord,  help  mine 
unbelief."     He  's  very  kind,  and  pities  people 


156  THE    MISERABLE    BOY. 

in  distress  ;  he  is  very  strong,  and  able  to  help 
them  out  of  all  their  troubles. 

You  may  read  this  history  in  Matthew  17  : 
14-21  ;  Mark  9  :   14-29  ;  Luke  9  :  37-42. 


"  Lo !   Satan  trembles  when  he  sees 
The  weakest  saint  upon  his  knees.T 


THE  TWO  SISTERS. 

A  long  while  ago  there  lived  two  women 
named  Martha  and  Mary.  They  were  sisters, 
and  they  lived  in  a  house  in  a  pretty  village. 
It  was  two  miles  from  a  great  city  called  Je- 
rusalem. It  was  on  the  side  of  a  green  hill, 
and  it  was  planted  with  beautiful  trees.  Its 
name  was  Bethany.  I  cannot  tell  what  kind 
of  a  house  Martha  and  Mary  lived  in — whether 
it  was  a  large  house,  or  only  a  cottage.  One 
day  a  visitor  came  to  their  house:  it  was  such 
a  visitor  as  never  came  to  your  father's  house. 
Perhaps  a  rich  gentleman  came  one  day  to  see 
your  father  and  mother.  Can  you  remember 
how  your  parents  behaved  to  him  ?  Did  they 
not  behave  with  great  respect  ?  Did  they  not 
ask  him  to  sit  down,  and  did  they  not  stand  up 
and  listen  when  he  spoke  ?  But  it  was  not  a 
rich  gentleman  who  came  to  see  Martha  and 
Mary ;  it  was  a  poor  man,  yet  no  rich  gentle- 
man is  so  great  as  that  poor  man  was.  How 
can  that  be?  Perhaps  you  know  that  the 
poor  man  was  the  Son  of  God.  He  had  come 
down  from  heaven  to  live  a  little  while  in  this 
world ;  he  died  at  last  for  our  sins  ;  he  is  in 
heaven  now  with  God  his  Father ;  his  name  is 
H 


158  THE    TWO    SISTERS. 

Jesus  Christ.  When  he  was  in  this  world  he 
was  quite  poor ;  he  had  no  carriage  to  ride  in, 
he  had  no  horse,  not  even  an  ass ;  he  had  no 
servants,  and  no  house  of  his  own.  He  might 
have  been  rich,  but  he  chose  to  be  poor;  he 
walked  about  and  talked  to  the  people  that 
he  saw  in  the  road,  and  told  them  about 
God  his  Father  in  heaven.  Sometimes  he 
came  into  people's  houses  and  rested  himself. 
Kind  people  gave  him  food  to  eat.  Should  you 
have  liked  to  see  Jesus  come  into  your  house  ? 
He  could  not  bear  wickedness.  If  you  had 
said  a  wicked  word,  he  would  have  been  dis- 
pleased ;  if  you  had  been  rude  or  disobedient, 
he  would  have  been  grieved  with  you. 

Martha  and  Mary  were  glad  to  see  him 
come  into  their  house,  for  they  loved  him  very 
much.  When  Jesus  was  come  in,  he  began 
to  speak  about  God  his  Father,  and  about 
heaven.  Should  you  like  to  have  heard  what 
he  said  ?  Mary  did  ;  she  sat  down  at  his  feet, 
and  listened  to  every  word.  People  in  that 
country  often  sat  upon  the  floor,  or  on  a  low 
stool.  Mary  liked  to  sit  near  Jesus,  where 
she  could  hear  him.  But  where  was  Martha  ? 
She  was  gone  to  get  ready  the  dinner.  She 
wished  to  make  a  very  fine  dinner  for  the  Lord 
Jesus.  But  did  Jesus  care  about  eating  nice 
things  ?  Oh,  no  ;  he  wanted  very  little.  Mar- 
tha coulu  easily  have  brought  him  a  piece  oi 
bread  and  .^eat.  or  bread  and  honey,  and  then 
she  might  have  sat  down  with  Mary,  and  lis- 


THE    TWO    S.STERS.  159 

tened  to  the  Lord.  But  instead  of  doing  this 
she  was  displeased  because  Mary  did  not  help 
her  to  get  ready  the  dinner ;  and  she  came  into 
the  room  where  Mary  was  sitting  so  happy, 
and  she  said  to  the  Lord,  "  Dost  thou  not  care 
that  my  sister  hath  left  me  to  serve  alone? 
Bid  her  therefore  that  she  help  me."  .What 
rude  behavior  this  was  ! 

Mary  did  not  answer,  but  Jesus  did  :  "  Mar- 
tha, Martha,  thou  art  careful,  and  troubled 
about  many  things :  but  one  thing  is  need- 
ful, and  Mary  hath  chosen  that  good  part, 
which  shall  not  be  taken  away  from  her." 
What  was  the  good  thing  Mary  had  chosen  ? 
Was  it  not  to  hear  about  God  and  heaven  ? 
It  is  better  to  know  about  God  than  to  have 
all  the  things  in  the  world.  If  you  had  a  fine 
house  fit  for  a  king,  and  a  hundred  servants  to 
wait  upon  you,  and  a  carriage  with  six  horses 
to  draw  it,  yet  some  day  you  must  leave  them 
all,  for  some  day  you  must  die.  But  if  you 
know  about  God,  and  if  he  has  forgiven  you 
all  your  sins,  then  when  you  die  you  will  be  as 
happy  as  the  angels,  and  sing  sweet  hymns  to 
a  golden  harp. 

I  wonder  what  Martha  did  after  Jesus  had 
spoken  to  her;  I  hope  she  sat  down  to  listen. 
She  was  a  good  woman  and  loved  Jesus,  and  I 
know  she  is  with  him  in  heaven  now. 

Do  you  like  to  hear  the  words  of  Jesus? 
You  can  read  them  in  the  New  Testament ; 
they  are  written  down  there,  and  they  are  sweet 


iGO  THE    TWO     SISTERS. 

words.  What  a  sweet  verse  is  this  :  "  Suffer 
the  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid 
them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God." 
And  is  not  this  a  sweet  verse  ?  "  Come  unto 
me,  all  ye  that  are  weary  and  heavy  laden,  and 
I  will  give  you  rest."  And  is  not  this  sweet  ? 
"  Him  that  cometh  unto  me,  I  will  in  nowise 
cast  out."  All  these  are  the  wwds  of  Jesus, 
and  they  are  written  down  in  the  Testament, 
that  you  may  read  them. 

There  is  no  harm  in  liking  to  play,  for  you 
are  a  child;  but  if  you  love  Jesus,  you  will 
like  to  think  of  his  wrords  as  soon  as  you  wake 
in  the  morning,  and  when  you  are  going  to 
sleep  at  night,  and  often  in  the  day  you  will 
think  of  them,  and  sometimes  you  will  pray  to 
him,  and  say,  "Forgive  my  sins,  0  blessed 
Jesus.  Make  me  good ;  give  me  thy  Holy 
Spirit ;  take  me  to  heaven  when  I  die." 

You  may  read  the  history  of  Martha  and 
Mary  in  Luke  10  :  38,  to  end. 


Suffer  me  to  come  to  Jesus, 
Mother  dear  forbid  me  not ; 

By  his  blood  from  hell  he  frees  us, 
Makes  us  fair  without  a  spot 

Suffer  me,  my  earthly  father, 
At  his  pierced  feet  to  fall  : 

Why  forbid  me  ?  help  n.e,  rather; 
Jesus  is  my  all  in  all. 


THE    TWO    SISTERS.  161 

Suffer  me  to  run  unto  him, 

Gentle  sisters,  come  with  me ; 
Oh,  that  all  I  love  hut  knew  him, 

Then  my  home  a  heaven  would  be. 

Loving  playmates,  gay  and  smiling, 

Bid  me  not  forsake  the  cross ; 
Hard  to  bear  is  your  reviling, 

Yet  for  Jesus  all  is  dross. 

Yes,  though  all  the  world  have  chid  me, 

Father  mother,  sister,  friend, 
Jesus  never  will  forbid  me ! 

Jesus  loves  me  to  the  end ' 

Gentle  Shepherd,  on  thy  shoulder 

Carry  me,  a  sinful  lamb ; 
Give  me  faith,  and  make  me  boldefj 

Till  with  thee  in  heaven  I  ana. 


IV 


THE  CRIPPLE. 

Some  boys  laugh  at  poor  cripples  when 
they  see  them  in  the  streets.  This  is  very 
wicked.  Sometimes  when  walking,  wre  meet 
a  man  with  only  one  eye,  one  arm,  or  one  leg, 
or  who  has  a  hamp-back.  How  ought  we  to 
feel  when  we  see  them?  We  ought  to  pity 
them ;  we  ought  to  think  to  ourselves,  "  Plow 
painful  it  must  be  to  limp  along,  instead  of 
walking  easily  !  How  unpleasant  it  must  be 
to  have  only  one  hand  to  work  with,  or  to 
dress  ourselves  with!'"'  Then  we  ought  to 
thank  God  for  his  kindness  in  giving  us  so 
many  limbs,  and  keeping  us  from  being  hurt. 
If  our  mothers  had  dropped  us  out  of  their 
arms  when  we  were  babies,  our  backs  might 
have  been  broken.  If  a  playfellow  had  put  a 
stick  into  one  of  our  eyes,  we  might  have  lost 
our  precious  sight. 

When  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  lived  in  this 
world,  he  took  great  notice  of  poor  cripples. 
Once  when  he  was  in  a  place  like  a  church, 
called  a  synagogue,  he  saw  a  woman  who  was 
bent  double.  She  could  not  lift  herself  up  to 
look  at  him,  but  he  saw  her.  1  wonder  how 
she  got  to  the  synagogue.     Perhaps  she  lived 


THE     CRIPPLE.  163 

very  near  or  perhaps  her  friends  helped  her 
to  come,  or  perhaps  she  crept  along  by  her- 
self. I  have  known  a  poor  creature  who  was 
bent  almost  double,  when  she  wished  to  go  to 
worship  God  in  his  house,  she  set  out  early  in 
the  morning ;  she  had  only  half  a  mile  to  go, 
yet  she  was  two  hours  getting  along,  for  almost 
every  step  she  sat  down  to  rest,  now  upon  the 
grass  and  now  upon  a  bank,  or  she  leaned 
against  a  gate. 

I  wonder  how  this  poor  woman  whom  Jesus 
saw  got  to  the  synagogue.  How  glad  she 
must  have  been  that  she  had  come  there  when 
she  heard  Jesus  teaching!  There  never  was 
such  a  teacher  as  he  was.  He  spoke  so  gently 
and  so  sweetly  that  poor  people  liked  to  listen 
to  him,  and  to  hear  him  say,  '*'  Come  unto  me, 
all  ye  that  are  weary  and  heavy  laden,  and  I 
will  give  you  rest." 

Jesus,  saw  the  poor  cripple,  and  he  called 
her  to  him.  The  people  who  stood  round 
heard  him  call,  and  they  watched  to  see  what 
he  did.  First  Jesus  said  to  her,  "Woman, 
thou  art  loosed  from  thine  infirmity."  Then 
he  laid  his  hands  on  her,  and  immediately  she 
was  made  straight.  What  a  sight  it  was  to 
see  that  woman  lift  herself  up,  and  all  at  once 
become  as  straight  as  other  women.  What 
did  she  do  when  she  was  made  straight  ?  She 
began  to  praise  God.  This  woman  loved 
God.  It  was  the  devil  who  had  bent  her  back 
double.     God  sometimes  allows  the  devil  to 


IC4  THE    CRIPPLE. 

hurt  the  bodies  of  good  people,  but  he  does 
not  let  the  devil  have  their  souls.  This  poor 
woman  had  been  bent  double  eighteen  years, 
yet  she  had  gone  on  loving  God,  and  now  at 
last  she  was  saved  out  of  her  trouble.  Do 
you  think  that  everybody  was  glad  to  see  her 
made  straight  ?  Oh,  no ;  there  were  some 
wicked  people  there,  who  hated  Jesus,  and 
they  could  not  bear  to  see  him  do  wonders, 
because  they  were  afraid  more  people  would 
believe  that  he  was  the  Son  of  God.  The 
chief  man  in  the  synagogue  was  wicked;  it 
was  he  who  used  to  offer  up  the  prayers  to 
God,  yet  his  heart  was  full  of  malice  and 
envy.  After  he  had  seen  Jesus  make  the 
woman  straight,  he  was  very  angry,  and  he 
told  the  people  not  to  come  on  the  Sabbath- 
day  to  be  made  well,  but  on  one  of  the  six 
week-days. 

But  the  people  had  not  come  to  the  syna- 
gogue only  to  be  made  well,  they  had  come  to 
be  taught.  Jesus  himself  answered  the  wicked 
man;  he  called  him  by  a  dreadful  name — - 
'•  Hypocrite."  He  can  see  into  the  heart,  and 
he  knows  who  pretend  to  be  good  when  they 
are  really  wicked  ;  those  people  are  hypocrites. 

What  did  Jesus  say  to  this  hypocrite  ?  He 
said,  "  Does  not  each  one  of  you,  on  the  Sab- 
bath-day, loose  his  ox  or  his  ass  from  the  stall, 
and  lead  him  away  to  the  watering?  And 
ought  not  this  woman,  whom  Satan  hath 
bound,  lo;  these  eighteen  years,  to  be  loosed 


THE     CRIPPLE.  105 

from  ihis  bond  on  the  Sabbath-day  ?"  What 
could  the  hypocrite  answer  to  this  question  ? 
No  one  couM  answer  it.  It  was  plain,  that  if 
an  ass  ought  to  be  kindly  treated  on  the  Sab- 
bath, a  poor  woman  who  trusted  in  God  ought 
to  be  made  happy  on  the  Sabbath.  This 
woman  did  trust  in  God,  and  Jesus  called  her 
a  daughter  of  Abraham.  Abraham  trusted  in 
God,  and  she  was  like  him. 

Perhaps  some  poor  cripple  will  read  this 
story.  Be  comforted,  God  cares  for  you.  He 
could  make  you  straight  and  strong.  He  has 
some  wise  reason  for  letting  you  be  crooked. 
He  gave  his  only  Son  to  die  for  your  sins 
upon  the  crossj  he  knows  whether  you  love 
him.  At  the  last  day,  all  the  people  who 
have  been  buried  will  rise  out  of  their  graves 
with  new  bodies.  Cripples  who  have  loved 
God  will  then  be  bright  and  beautiful  like  the 
Son  of  God. 

Children,  who  are  tall  and  straight,  and 
strong,  if  you  are  wicked,  and  die  in  your  sins, 
you  will  be  eaten  by  worms  for  ever  and  ever, 
and  burned  in  a  fire  that  will  never  be  put 
out ;  for  God  has  said,  "  The  wicked  shall  be 
turned  into  hell,  and  all  the  nations  that  forget 
God."     Psa.  9  :   17. 

You  will  find  the  history  of  this  poor  woman 
in  Luke  13:   10-17. 


1GG  THE     CRIPPLE. 

My  little  body's  made  by  God, 
Of  soft  warm  flesh  and  crimson  blood , 
The  slender  bones  are  placed  within, 
And  over  all  is  laid  the  skin. 

My  little  body's  very  weak; 
A  fall  or  blow  my  bones  might  break, 
The  water  soon  might  stop  my  breath, 
The  fire  might  close  my  eyes  in  death. 

But  God  can  keep  me  hy  his  care ; 
To  him  I'll  say  this  little  prayer ; 
"  0,  God  !  from  harm  my  body  keep, 
Both  when  I  wake,  and  when  I  sleep." 


While  some  poor  wretches  scarce  can  tell 
Where  they  may  lay  their  head, 

I  have  a  home  wherein  to  dwell, 
And  rest  upon  my  bed. 

While  others  early  learn  to  swear, 

And  curse,  and  lie,  and  steal ; 
Lord,  I  am  taught  thy  name  to  fear, 

And  do  thy  holy  will. 

Are  these  thy  favors,  day  by  day, 

To  me  above  the  rest  ? 
Then  let  me  love  thee  more  than  they, 

And  try  to  serve  thee  best. 


THE 

BLIND  BEGGAR  OF  JERUSALEM. 

There  are  a  great  many  blind  persons  in 
London.  I  have  heard  that  there  are  two 
thousand  blind  people  in  that  great  city.  Many 
of  them  are  old  people,  who  once  could  see  as 
well  as  you  can ;  some  are  young,  and  have 
been  made  blind  by  the  small  pox,  or  a  fever, 
or  an  accident;  and  some  were  blind  when 
they  were  born. 

There  is  a  city  a  long  way  off,  called  Jeru- 
salem, and  there  are  blind  people  in  that  city. 
A  long  while  ago  there  was  a  blind  beggar  in 
Jerusalem.  He  was  a  young  man,  but  he 
could  not  work  because  of  his  blindness,  so  he 
begged.  One  day  some  men  passed  by  ;  one 
of  these  men  was  the  Son  of  God.  He  was 
come  down  from  heaven  to  live  in  this  world 
for  a  little  while.  Why  did  he  come  down  ? 
It  was  to  save  us  sinners  from  going  to  hell. 
At  last  he  was  nailed  upon  a  cross  of  wood, 
and  died.  But  before  he  died  he  used  to  walk 
about  with  his  twelve  friends  and  cure  poor 
people  who  were  blind  or  sick.  He  saw  this 
blind  beggar,  and  he  told  his  friends  that  he 
would  cure  him.     You  will   be  surprised  to 


168  THE    BLIND    BEGGAR 

hear  the  strange  manner  in  which  he  cured 
him.  He  made  a  plaster  of  the  dust  of  the 
ground  by  wetting  it  with  his  spittle,  and  then 
he  put  it  on  the  blind  man's  eyes.  You  would 
have  thought,  that  by  this  way  his  eyes  could 
not  be  made  well.  Then  Jesus  told  the  beggar 
to  go  and  wash  in  a  pool  or  pond  a  little  way 
off.  The  beggar  went  and  washed,  for  he 
could  find  his  way  about  Jerusalem,  as  he  had 
lived  there  a  long  while.  When  he  had  wash- 
ed, he  found  he  could  see. 

Everybody  was  very  much  surprised  to  see 
him  walking  about  the  streets  with  his  eyes 
open.  JV^ny  people  wondered  whether  it  was 
the  same  man  who  once  sat  and  begged. 
Some  people  were  sure  it  was  the  same  man, 
and  other  people  thought  it  could  not  be  the 
same,  but  only  a  man  very  much  like  the  blind 
beggar.  But  when  he  heard  what  people  said, 
he  answered  them,  "I  am  he."  Then  the 
people  said,  "  How  were  thine  eyes  opened  ?" 
Then  he  told  them  that  a  man  named  Jesus 
had  cured  him.  He  did  not  know  who  Jesus 
was,  and  he  had  never  seen  him,  but  he  knew 
that  he  had  been  very  kind  to  him,  and  had 
done  a  great  wonder  in  giving  him  sight. 

You  will  be  surprised  to  hear  that  the  people 
in  Jerusalem  did  not  love  Jesus.  They  hated 
him,  because  he  told  them  of  their  sins;  so 
they  were  very  angry  with  the  blind  man  for 
saying  that  Jesus  had  cured  him.  They  told 
him,  it  was  not  Jesus  Wiio  made  him  see,  it 


OF     JERUSALEM.  169 

was  God,  and  he  must  praise  him  ;  fur  Jesus 
was  a  wicked  man.  The  blind  man  did  not 
know  that  Jesus  was  God  as  well  as  man,  but 
he  was  sure  that  he  was  good,  and  he  said  so. 
This  made  the  wicked  men  more  angry  than 
before,  and  at  last  they  said  they  would  have 
no  more  to  do  with  him,  and  that  they  would 
not  speak  to  him  or  take  any  notice  of  him. 
Was  not  this  very  cruel?' 

Jesus  knew  that  the  poor  blind  beggar  was 
ill-treated,  and  he  went  to  him.  Jesus  could 
easily  find  him,  for  he  is  God,  and  sees  every- 
body, by  day  and  by  night.  I  do  not  know- 
where  the  poor  man  wras  when  Jesus  found 
him — whether  he  was  in  the  house,  or  in  the 
street.  When  the  man  saw  Jesus,  he  did  not 
know  who  he  was,  for  he  had  never  seen  him 
before.  But  he  had  heard  his  voice,  and  per- 
haps he  knew  that  voice  again.  Jesus  said  to 
him,  "Dost  thou  believe  on  the  Son  of  God?" 
The  man  answered,  "Who  is  he,  Lord,  that  I 
might  believe  on  him  ?"  Then  Jesus  said, 
"  Thou  hast  both  seen  him,  and  it  is  he  that 
talketh  with  thee."  Then  the  man  said, 
"  Lord,  I  believe,"  and  he  worshipped  him. 

I  do  not  know  what  happened  afterwards  to 
that  blind  man,  but  I  am  sure  he  is  happy  now 
in  heaven,  for  he  believed  in  Jesus,  the  Son  of 
God.  Everybody  will  be  happy  who  believes 
in  Jesus,  as  this  blind  man  did.  If  Jesus  were 
to  say  to  you,  "  Do  you  believe  on  the  Son  of 
God  ?"  could  you  say,  "  Lord,  I  believe  ?"  It 
15 


170  THE    BLIND    BEGGAR 

you  believe  in  Jesus,  then  you  love  him,  and 
you  will  try  to  please  him.  You  will  not  say 
bad  words,  nor  tell  lies,  nor  steal,  nor  fight. 
Wicked  people  abused  the  blind  man,  because 
he  said  that  Jesus  was  good  ;  but  Jesus  him- 
self came  to  comfort  him.  If  wicked  boys  and 
girls  laugh  at  you,  because  you  wish  to  please 
God,  do  not  mind  what  they  say.  Jesus  hears 
them  when  they  laugh  at  you,  and  he  will  make 
you  happy. 

You  may  read  this  history  in  the  ninth  chap- 
ter of  the  Gospel  according  to  St.  John. 


Jesus,  who  lives  above  the  sky, 
Came  down  to  be  a  man  and  die  ; 
And  in  the  Bible  we  may  see 
How  very  good  he  used  to  be. 

He  went  about,  he  was  so  kind, 
To  cure  poor  people  who  were  blind  : 
And  many  who  were  sick  and  lame, 
He  pitied  them  and  did  the  same. 

And  more  than  that,  he  told  them,  too, 
The  things  which  God  would  have  them  do ; 
And  was  so  gentle  and  so  mild, 
He  woul^  have  listen'd  to  a  child . 


OF     JERUSALEM.  171 

But  such  a  cruel  death  he  died— 

He  was  hung  up,  and  crucified  ! 

And  those  kind  hands  th'at  did  such  good, 

They  nail'd  them  to  a  cross  of  wood. 

And  so  he  died  !     And  this  is  why 
He  came  to  be  a  man  and  die. 
The  Bible  says  he  came  from  heaven, 
That  we  might  have  our  sins  forgiven. 

He  knew  how  wicked  men  had  been, 
And  knew  that  God  must  punish  sin  j 
So,  out  of  pity,  Jesus  said 
He'd  bear  the  punishment  instead. 


LITTLE  CHILDREN. 

Some  people  are  very  fond  of  children. 
Other  people  think  them  troublesome,  take  no 
notice  of  them,  or  speak  roughly  to  them. 
When  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  was  in  this 
world,  he  was  very  kind  to  children,  and  now 
he  lives  in  heaven  he  loves  them  still. 

Once,  when  he  was  in  a  house,  he  called  a 
little  child,  and  took  him  in  his  arms.  And 
why  did  he  do  so  ?  There  were  some  men  in 
the  house  who  had  been  disputing  together. 
What  had  they  been  disputing  about  ?  Who 
should  be  the  greatest.  It  is  proud  to  wish  tc 
be  great.  A  little  child  does  not  wish  to  be 
great;  it  likes  better  to  be  with  its  own  mother 
than  to  ride  in  a  carriage  with  a  fine  lady, 
Jesus  showed  this  little  child  to  the  men  who 
wished  to  be  great.  He  set  him  in  the  midst 
of  them,  and  said,  "Except  ye  become  as  little 
children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  Whosoever,  therefore,  shall  hum 
ble  himself  as  this  little  child,  the  same  is  great- 
est in  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

You  see  that  Jesus  loves  humble,  meek,  gen- 
tle people,  who  are  like  lambs  and  doves  ;  but 
children,   as   they   grow   bigger,   often   grew 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  173 

worse,  till  they  are  like  lions,  bears,  and  tigers. 
Here  is  a  prayer  for  a  little  child  : 

"  Gentle  Jesus,  meek  and  mild, 
Look  upon  a  little  child ; 
Pity  my  simplicity, 
Suffer  me  to  come  to  thee." 

There  were  some  other  little  children  whom 
Jesus  took  in  his  arms ;  their  mothers  brought 
them  to  the  Lord.  Should  you  like  to  have 
seen  those  mothers,  with  their  little  darlings  in 
their  arms,  coming  to  Jesus  ?  But  when  they 
came,  those  men  were  there  who  once  disput- 
ed who  should  be  the  greatest.  Those  men 
were  called  "disciples  ;"  they  were  good  men, 
but  not  as  good  as  J  esus  was.  They  did  not  like 
to  see  the  mothers  bringing  little  children  in  their 
arms ;  they  thought  the  children  would  be  trou- 
blesome, and  they  told  the  mothers  to  take  them 
away.  How  sorry  those  poor  women  would 
have  been  to  take  their  little  ones  back  again, 
for  they  wanted  Jesus  to  touch  them,  to  pray 
for  them,  and  to  bless  them.  But  Jesus  heard 
the  disciples  speak  unkindly  to  the  women,  and 
he  was  much  displeased  with  them,  and  he 
said  to  them,  "  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come 
unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not ;  for  of  such  is 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Then  he  took  the 
dear  little  creatures  in  his  arms,  put  his  hands 
upon  them,  and  blessed  them. 

There  is  a  very  pretty  hymn  about  Jesus 
15* 


74  LITTLE    CHILDREN. 

blessing  the  little  children.     I  am  sure  you  will 
like  it. 

"  T  think  when  I  read  that  sweet  story  of  old, 

When  Jesus  was  here  among  men, 
How  he  called  little  children,  as  lambs,  to  his  fold, 

I  should  like  to  have  been  with  them  then. 
I  wish  that  his  hands  had  been  placed  on  my  head, 

That  his  arms  had  been  thrown  around  me, 
And  that  I  might  have  seen  his  kind  look  when  he 
said, 

'  Let  the  little  ones  come  unto  me.' 

"  Yet  still  to  his  footstool  in  prayer  I  may  go, 

And  ask  for  a  share  in  his  love, 
And  if  I  thus  earnestly  seek  him  below, 

I  shall  see  him  and  hear  him  above — 
In  that  beautiful  plaee  he  is  gone  to  prepare 

For  all  who  are  wash'd  and  forgiven ; 
And  many  dear  children  are  gathering  there, 

'  For  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.' 

"  But  thousands  and  thousands,  who  wander  and  fall, 

Never  heard  of  that  heavenly  home — 
I  should  like  them  to  know  there  is  room  for  them  all 

And  that  Jesus  has  bid  them  to  come. 
I  long  for  the  joy  of  that  glorious  time, 

The  sweetest,  and  brightest,  and  best, 
When  the  dear  little  children  of  every  clime 

Shall  crowd  to  his  arms,  and  be  blessed.1' 

Mrs.  Lu&ic. 


LITTLE    CHILDREN.  175 

May  the  children  who  read  this  book  often 
think  of  the  sweet  words,  "Suffer  little  chil- 
dren, and  forbid  them  not,  to  come  unto  me ; 
for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

I  do  not  know  whether  the  little- children 
whom  Jesus  blessed  could  speak.  I  do  not 
even  know  whether  they  could  walk ;  but 
there  were  some  children  who  could  speak 
who  loved  the  Lord.  I  think  they  loved  him, 
because  they  praised  him.  Once,  when  he  was 
in  a  beautiful  house  called  the  Temple,  these 
children  were  there  too.  They  saw  the  won- 
derful things  that  he  did ;  they  saw  him  make 
blind-  people  see,  and  lame  people  walk, 
and  they  cried  out,  "  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of 
David."  This  was  a  prayer.  The  word 
"  Hosanna"  means,  "  Save,  Lord,  we  beseech 
thee."  The  children  called  Jesus  the  son  of 
David.  David  was  a  great  king,  and  Jesus 
belonged  to  his  family.  But  he  was  the  son  of 
a  greater  king  than  David — he  was  the  Son  of 
God. 

Did  he  like  to  hear  the  children  praising  him  ? 
Yes,  he  did ;  but  there  were  some  wicked  men 
there,  who  did  not  like  to  hear  them.  They 
said  to  him,  "  Do  you  hear  what  these  children 
say  ?"  And  Jesus  said,  "  Yes.  Have  you 
never  read,  '  Out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and 
sucklings,  thou  hast  perfected  praise  ?'  "  It  is 
God  who  teaches  children  to  praise  him.  It  is 
a  dreadful  thing  to  hear  a  child  use  wicked 
words,  but  it  is  very  sweet  to  hear  him  praise 


176  LITTLE     CHILDREN. 

God— it  makes  one  think  of  the  angels  in  hea- 
ven. 

You  may  read  about  Christ  and  the  children 
in  the  New  Testament,  or  the  Bible,  in  Mat- 
thew 19  :  13-15;  21 :  15,  16  ;  Mark  9:  33-37  ; 
10:  13-16;  Luke  18:  15-17. 


Children  of  Jerusalem 
Sang  the  praise  of  Jesus'  name  ; 
Children,  too,  of  later  days, 
Join  to  sing  the  Saviour's  praise. 
Hark  !   while  infant  voices  sing 
Loud  hosannas  to  our  King. 

Christ  approved  their  song,  and  said, 
"  Have  you  not  then  ever  read, 
God  accepts  the  simple  praise 
That  these  babes  and  sucklings  raise  •■ 
Hark  !  their  infant  voices  sing 
Loud  hosannas  to  their  King. 

Come,  let  all  our  infant  train 

Swell  the  humble,  grateful  strain  ; 

Hallelujah  let  us  sing, 

Loud  hosannas  to  our  King. 

Hark  !  while  infant  voices  sing 
Loud  hosannas  to  our  King. 

Parents,  teachers,  old  and  young, 

All  unite  to  swell  the  song  ; 

Higher  and  yet  higher  rise, 

Till  hosannas  reach  the  skies. 
Hark  !  we  all  unite  to  sing 
Loud  hosannas  to  our  Kins. 


THE  TEN  SICK  MEN. 

It  is  very  common  to  meet  sick  people  in 
the  streets,  but  did  you  ever  see  ten  sick  peo- 
ple all  standing  together  ?  I  think  not.  Yet 
once  ten  very  sick  people  were  seen  together. 
They  were  called  lepers.  What  is  a  leper  ? 
It  is  a  man  whose  skin  is  covered  with  a 
white  breaking- out,  arid  whose  flesh  is  begin- 
ning to  crumble  away.  Sometimes  the  ends 
of  his  fingers  drop  off,  and  then  his  hands  or 
his  feet,  till  only  the  stumps  are  left.  It  would 
make  you  sad  to  see  one  of  these  poor  lepers. 
But,  oh,  how  very  sad  it  must  have  been  to 
see  ten  lepers  standing  together.  1  will  tell  you 
why  they  all  kept  together.  It  was  because 
they  were  not  allowed  to  be  with  people  who 
were  well — not  even  to  touch  them  ;  so  what 
could  the  poor  creatures  do  ?  They  did  not 
like  always  to  be  alone,  and  they  were  glad  to 
keep  company  with  each  other.  They  were 
not  allowed  to  walk  in  the  streets  of  a  town, 
lest  they  should  touch  the  people  who  were 
passing  by;  they  were  obliged  to  be  in  the 
country,  amongst  the  trees  and  the  fields.  It 
is  pleasant  to  be  in  the  country — yes,  very 
pleasant  for  people  who  are  well,   but  it  was 


178  THE    TEN    SICK    MEN. 

not  pleasant  for  the  poor  lepers ;  no  place  was 
pleasant  for  them. 

One  day,  as  the  ten  lepers  were  all  together, 
they  saw  a  man  coming  along  the  way,  and 
going  towards  a  village.  They  knew  who 
this  man  was;  they  must  have  seen  him 
before.  But  do  you  know  who  that  man  was  ? 
He  was  the  greatest  man  who  ever  lived  in 
this  world.  Was  he  a  king  ?  He  was  greater 
than  all  the  kings — he  was  the  King  of  kings, 
and  yet  he  wTas  a  poor  man.  How  could  this 
be  ?  I  will  tell  you  how  it  was.  The  Son 
of  God  had  come  down  to  be  a  man,  and  to 
live  in  this  world.  God,  his  Father,  had  sent 
him  down  here  that  he  might  die  upon  the 
cross  for  our  sins.  We  are.  sinners,  and  the 
Son  of  God  died  that  our  sins  might  be  for- 
given. The  Son  of  God  was  called  Jesus. 
Oh,  he  was  so  kind  and  good,  but  he  chose  to 
be  very  poor.  He  could  do  wonderful  things; 
and  make  sick  people  well  only  by  speaking  a 
word.  The  ten  lepers  had  heard  of  this,  and 
when  they  saw  Jesus  passing  by,  they  called 
out  very  loud,  "  Jesus,  Master,  have  mercy  on 
us."  They  did  not  dare  to  come  near  Jesus, 
but  they  hoped  he  would  hear  their  voices. 
And  he  did  hear  them,  and  said,  "  Go,  show 
yourselves  to  the  priests."  Now,  the  priests 
were  ministers.  God  had  said,  that  when 
lepers  were  made  well  they  should  go  first  to 
the  priests,  to  be  looked  at  by  them  before 
they  walked   again   about    the   streets.      So 


THE    TEN    SICK    MEN.  179 

when  these  lepers  heard  Jesus  tell  them  to  go 
to  the  priests,  they  knew  that  they  should  soon 
be  quite  well. 

As  they  were  walking  along  towards  the 
place  where  the  priests  lived,  they  grew  well. 
Those  hands  that  were  covered  with  white 
sores,  wrere  now  the  same  brown  color  they 
had  been  before.  If  the  lepers  looked  at  each 
other,  they  saw  faces  that  were  of  a  sickly 
white  become  rosy  and  healthy.  And  when 
the  lepers  saw  this,  did  they  go  on  or  did 
they  turn  back  ?  One  of  them  turned  back, 
and  only  one  ;  all  the  rest  made  haste  to  go  to 
the  priests.  Why  did  that  one  turn  back  ? 
It  was  that  he  might  go  to  Jesus  and  thank 
him.  As  he  went  along,  he  praised  God  for 
his  goodness  with  a  loud  voice.  When  he 
was  sick,  he  had  asked  to  be  cured  with  a  loud 
voice  ;  and  now  he  was  well,  he  thanked  God 
with  a  loud  voice.     This  was  right. 

When  he  came  to  Jesus,  he  fell  down  at  his 
feet  with  his  face  to  the  ground  and  thanked 
him.  Then  Jesus  said,  "  Were  there  not  ten 
cleansed  ?  but  where  are  the  nine  ?  There 
are  not  found  that  returned  to  give  glory  God, 
save  this  stranger."  Now  Jesus  knew  that 
this  man  who  had  come  back  was  not  of  his 
own  country.  He  was  a  stranger,  or  a  for- 
eigner, and  he  came  from  a  land  where  the 
people  knew  very  little  about  God,  yet  he 
loved  God  better  than  the  other  lepers  did. 

There  are  many  people  who  pray  to  God 


180  THE    TEN    SICK    MEN. 

when  they  are  unhappy,  and  who  forget  to 
thank  him  when  they  are  happy  again.  Is 
there  a  boy  reading  this  book  who  was  once 
in  great  distress  ?  Had  you  once  no  food  in 
the  house  ?  Did  you  pray  to  God  for  food  ? 
Did  you  get  food  ?  Did  you  thank  God  for 
it  ?  Whenever  God  has  given  you  anything, 
or  made  you  well,  or  got  you  out  of  trouble, 
he  expects  you  to  thank  him.  He  knows 
how  many  men  and  women  and  children  he 
has  helped.  Perhaps  there  were  one  hundred 
people  very  ill  last  night,  and  God  has  made 
them  all  better  this  mornng,  and  perhaps  only 
one  thanks  him.  Then  God  says,  "  Where  are 
the  ninety  and  nine  ?" 

God  knows  your  name.  If  you  do  not 
thank  him,  he  says,  "Where  is  that  little  boy, 
or  that  little  girl  ?  Why  does  not  he  come 
and  thank  me  ?  I  have  been  very  kind  to 
him."  Do  you  know  the  greatest  kindness 
God  has  ever  shown  you  ?  He  has  given  his 
Son  to  die  for  your  sins.  Did  you  ever  once 
thank  God  for  sending  Jesus  Christ  to  die 
upon  the  cross  that  you  might  not  go  to  hell  ? 
If  you  have  never  thanked  him  yet,  begin  this 
day,  and  say,  "0  Father,  I  thank  thee  for 
sending  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  die  upon 
the  cross  to  save  sinners." 

You   may  read  this  history  in   Luke   17 
11-19. 


THE    TEN    SICK    MEN.  181 

THE  SAVIOUR'S  LOVE. 
How  great  is  the  love 

Which  Jesus  hath  shown  ! 
He  came  from  above, 

From  heaven's  bright  throne, 
That  he  might  deliver 

His  children  from  hell, 
And  take  them  for  ever 

In  glory  to  dwell. 

He  died  on  the  cross, 

And  pour'd  out  his  blood, 
To  bear  their  dread  curse, 

And  fit  them  for  God. 
For  love  so  amazing-, 

His  name  we  adore, 
And  would  him  be  praising 

With  saints  evermore. 


16 


THE  BLIND  BEGGAR  OF  JERICHO. 


It  is  very  common  to  see  blind  men  begging 
in  the  streets.  Do  not  you  pity  the  blind  ? 
How  sad  it  must  be  never  to  see  the  light  of 
the  sun,  nor  the  green  leaves  in  spring,  nor  the 
faces  of  our  dearest  friends  ! 

A  long  while  ago  a  blind  man  sat  begging 
by  the  side  of  the  road.  As  he  sat,  he  heard 
the  noise  of  a  great  crowd  walking  along.  He 
did  not  know  why  there  was  such  a  crowd,  so 
he  asked  the  people  passing  by  why  so  many 
had  come  together.  They  told  him  that  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  was  passing  that  way.  The  blind 
man  had  heard  before  of  Jesus.  He  had  heard 
that  he  could  do  great  wonders,  and  he  felt 


THE    BLIND      BEGGAR.  1S3 

sure  in  his  heart  that  Jesus  could  make  him 
see.  But  the  blind  man  could  not  go  to  him 
— how  could  he  dare  to  stir  in  such  a  crowd  ? 
he  might  have  been  pushed  down  and  trodden 
upon  and  crushed  to  death.  But  he  could 
speak.  He  cried  out  very  loud,  "  Jesus,  thou 
Son  of  David,  have  mercy  on  me."  He  did 
not  cry  out  barely  once  or  twice,  he  kept  on 
crying  out,  hoping  that  Jesus  would  hear  him. 
But  the  Lord  took  no  notice  of  him,  and  a 
great  many  people  came  up  to  him  and  told 
him  not  to  make  such  a  noise.  Yet  the  poor 
man  would  not  be  quiet ;  he  knew  that  the 
Lord  was  passing  by,  and  that  he  might  soon 
be  gone,  and  that  he  might  never  pass  that  way 
again,  so  he  cried  out  more  than  ever,  "Have 
mercy  on  me  !"  And  did  the  Lord  take  notice 
of  him  at  last  ?  Yes,  he  did  ;  he  stood  still, 
and  told  the  people  to  bring  that  blind  man  to 
him.  How  kind  it  was  in  Jesus  to  care  for 
the  blind  beggar!  Jesus  is  very  kind,  and 
cares  for  every  poor  creature  in  the  world. 
At  last  the  blind  man  heard  some  one  speak 
kindly  to  him,  and  say,  "Be  of  good  comfort, 
rise,  he  calleth  thee/'  How  glad  he  was  to 
hear  that  Jesus  had  sent  for  him  !  He  got  up 
very  quickly  and  went  to  Jesus,  for  now  the 
people  made  room  for  him.  No  one  now  was 
rude  to  the  poor  beggar,  for  Jesus  had  called 
for  him. 

And  what  did  Jesus  say  to  him  ?     He  asked 
him  what  he  wished  him  to  do  for  him.     The 


184  THE    BLIND    BEGGAR 

man  replied,  "Lord,  that  I  may  receive  my 
sight."  Jesus  pitied  him  very  much,  and  he 
touched  his  eyes,  and  said,  "  Receive  thy 
sight."  That  moment  he  was  able  to  see 
How  glad  he  now  was  that  he  had  cried  out, 
"  Lord  have  mercy  on  me,"  and  that  he  had 
not  left  off  when  the  people  told  him  not  to 
make  a  noise  !  He  would  not  leave  Jesus  now 
he  had  found  him,  but  went  after  him  on  the 
road,  praising  him,  and  thanking  God  for  his 
goodness. 

If  all  people  would  pray  as  this  blind  man 
did,  Jesus  would  hear  them  all.  The  child 
who  reads  this  book  is  not  blind.  If  you  were 
blind,  how  could  you  read  to  father  or  to 
mother?  But  there  is  something  which  Jesus 
could  do  for  you,  that  would  make'  you  happy 
forever.  What  is  it  ?  Do  you  know  ?  If  he 
were  to  say,  "  What  do  you  wish  me  to  do  for 
you  ?  What  would  you  answer  ?  I  should  like 
you  to  say,  "  Forgive  me  my  sins,  and  give  me 
thy  Hoiy  Spirit."  My  dear  child,  do  make 
this  little  prayer  every  day.  Jesus  would  hear 
you.  Perhaps  you  live  in  a-  very  poor  place. 
Perhaps  you  live  in  a  little  room  in  town,  up 
some  dark  and  narrow  stairs  ;  perhaps  there  is 
very  little  furniture  in  it,  and  very  little  food 
in  the  cupboard  ;  but  Jesus  knows  where  you 
live,  and  he  knows  your  name,  and  your 
father's  name,  and  your  mother's  name,  and  he 
hears  all  you  say.  He  would  be  much  pleased 
to  hear  you  praying  to  him,  because  he  loves 


OF    JERICHO.  185 

you,  and  he  once  died  upon  the  cross  that  }tou 
might  not  go  to  hell.  If  you  go  to  heaven, 
you  will  see  the  blind  beggar  there — I  mean 
the  beggar  who  once  was  blind.  Then  you 
will  sing  with  him  about  the  love  of  Jesus  in 
saving  your  souls. 

If  you  wish  to  read  a  full  account  of  this 
blind  man,  you  will  find  it  in  Mark  10  :  46,  to 
end  :  and  also  in  Luke  18  :  35,  to  end. 


When  Jesus  Christ  was  here  below, 
And  spread  his  works  of  love  abroad, 

If  I  had  lived  so  long  ago, 

I  think  I  should  have  loved  the  Lord. 

Jesus,  who  was  so  very  kind, 

Who  came  to  pardon  sinful  men, 
Who  heal'd  the  sick,  and  cur'd  the  blind  : 

Oh,  must  not  I  have  loved  him  then  % 

But  where  is  Jesus  1     Is  he  dead  % 
Oh,  no ;  he  lives  in  heaven  above  : 

"  And  blest  are  they,"  the  Saviour  said, 

"  Who,  though  they  have  not  seen  me,  love." 

He  sees  us  from  his  throne  on  high, 
As  well  as  when  on  earth  he  dwelt ; 

And  when  to  him  poor  children  cry, 
He  feels  such  love  as  then  he  felt. 


16^ 


186  THE    BLIXD    BEGGAR. 

Aif.d  if  the  Lord  will  grant  me  grace, 
Much  I  will  love  him  and  adore  ; 

But  when  in  heaven  I  see  his  face, 
'Twill  be  my  joy  to  love  him  more. 

"  Mercy,  0  thou  Son  of  David  !" 
Thus  blind  Bartimeus  pray'd  ; 

"  Others  by  thy  word  are  saved, 
Now  to  me  afford  thine  aid." 

Many  for  his  crying  chid  him, 
But  he  called  the  louder  still ; 

Till  the  gracious  Saviour  bid  him, 
"  Come,  and  ask  me  what  you  will.*3 

Money  was  not  what  he  wanted, 
Though  by  begging  used  to  live ; 

But  he  ask'd,  and  Jesus  granted, 
Alms  which  none  but  he  could  give. 

"Lord,  remove  this  grievous  blindness, 
Let  my  eyes  behold  the  day;" 

•Straight  he  saw,  and,  won  by  kindness, 
Follow'd  Jesus  in  the  way. 

Oh,  methinks  I  hear  him  praising, 

Publishing  to  all  around, 
u  Friends,  is  not  my  case  amazing  . 

What  a  Saviour  I  have  found  !" 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  TREE. 


Sometimes  the  queen  passes  through  the 
city  of  London  in  her  grand  carriage  of  state. 
Then  all  the  windows  in  the  streets,  from  the 
shop  to  the  garret,  are  full  of  faces  looking  out 
and  longing  to  have  a  peep  at  her  Majesty 
the  queen. 

Sometimes  the  queen  travels  in  the  country, 
and  then  all  the  lanes  are  filled  with  people : 
where  generally  sheep  are  feeding,  there  chil- 
dren may  be  seen  in  large  flocks  ;  and  where 
the  birds  often  sit  and  sing,  there  boys  and 
even  men  have  climbed  up,  that  they  may  get 
a  good  sight  of  their  sovereign. 

More  than  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  the 
King  of  kings  was  walking  about  this  world. 


188  THE    MAN    IN    THE    TREE. 

It  is  true,  he  did  not  wear  rich  and  splendid 
clothes,  nor  did  he  ride  in  a  grand  carriage 
drawn  by  fine  horses — no,  he  was  dressed  like 
a  poor  man,  and  he  walked  about  from  place 
to  place  ;  but  then  he  spoke  such  sweet  words 
that  people  came  from  far  to  hear  him;  and 
besides  this,  he  did  such  wonders — making  the 
blind  to  see,  and  the  lame  to  walk — that  every 
one  wished  to  look  at  him. 

There  was  a  man  who  longed  and  tried  to 
see  this  great  King,  but  he  could  not,  because 
there  was  a  crowd  all  round,  and  he  was  a 
short  man  and  he  could  not  look  over  the  heads 
of  the  people.  So  he  ran  on  a  little  way,  and 
then  he  climbed  up  in  a  tree  called  a  sycamore- 
tree,  which  is  a  high  tree  with  thick,  strong 
branches.  There  he  waited  till  the  King  pass- 
ed by.  He  thought  he  should  see  him  well 
from  this  high  place,  but  he  did  not  know  that 
any  one  would  see  him,  or  take  notice  of  him. 
How  much  surprised  he  was  when  Jesus  came 
to  the  place !  (for  this  King  was  the  Lord  Jesus.) 
The  Lord  looked  up  towards  the  tree.  Now, 
the  man  could  see  him  well — not  only  the  hair 
upon  his  head,  but  his  eyes,  and  his  whole  face. 
Jesus  not  only  looked,  but  stopped  and  spoke. 
He  said,  "  Zaccheus,  make  haste,  and  come 
down  ;  for  to-day  I  must  abide  at  thy  house." 
Jesus  knew  the  man's  name ;  he  knew  why  he 
had  gone  up  into  the  tree,  and  he  knew  that  he 
had  a  house  in  the  next  town. 

Zaccheus  did  not  stop  any  longer   in    the 


THE    MAN    IX    THE    TREE.  189 

tree  ;  he  got  down  very  fast,  went  back  to  his 
house,  and  was  ready  to  receive  the  Lord  into 
it.  He  thought  it  a  great  honor  to  receive 
such  a  visitor  beneath  his  roof,  and  indeed  it 
was  the  greatest  honor  he  could  have ;  even  an 
angel  would  think  it  a  great  honor  to  have  a 
visit  from  the  Son  of  God. 

Zaccheus  was  a  rich  man,  so  I  suppose  he 
had  a  large,  and  perhaps  a  fine  house.  But 
Jesus  does  not  care  whether  a  house  is  large 
or  small,  he  looks  into  the  hearts  of  the 
people  who  live  in  it.  Why  did  he  choose 
to  come  to  the  house  of  Zaccheus  ?  Be- 
cause he  had  determined  to  make  Zaccheus 
happy  forever.  Once  Zaccheus  had  been  a 
wicked  man  ;  he  had  cheated  many  people.  It 
was  his  business  to  collect  the  public  taxes,  and 
for  this  reason  he  was  called  a  publican;  but 
he  had  not  been  honest ;  he  had  charged  more 
than  he  ought,  and  he  had  grown  rich  by  his 
dishonesty.  His  cheating  ways  had  been 
found  out,  and  now  he  had  a  bad  character  ; 
so  when  people  saw  Jesus  go  into  his  house, 
many  said,  "  Why  does  he  go  into  the  house  of 
a  wicked  person  ?"  But  the  people  who  said 
that,  did  not  know  that  Jesus  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners.  Zaccheus  was  now 
very  sorry  for  his  past  wickedness,  and  while 
Jesus  was  in  his  house,  he  stood  and  said  to 
the  Lord,  "Behold,  Lord,  the  half  of  my  goods 
I  give  to  the  poor  ;"  and  he  promised  to  give 
oack  to  those  people  from  whom  he  had  taken 


190  THE    MAN    IN    THE    TREE. 

too  much,  four  times  what  he  had  taken.  Was 
not  this  right  in  Zaccheus  ?  Everybody  whom 
he  had  cheated  might  come  to  him  and  say, 
"  You  took  from  me  one  penny,  or  two  pence, 
more  than  you  ought;  will  you  give  me  back 
four  times  as  much?"  If  the  people  said  true, 
then  Zaccheus  would  give  them  back  the 
money.  Jesus  was  much  pleased  to  hear 
Zaccheus  speak  as  he  did.  He  praised  him, 
and  said  he  was  a  son  of  Abraham.  Abraham 
was  a  man  who  believed  in  God,  and  Jesus 
saw  that  Zaccheus  did  so  also,  for  he  could 
see  into  his  heart.  These  were  the  words  that 
Jesus  spoke  to  Zaccheus :  "  This  day  is  salva- 
tion come  to  this  house,  forasmuch  as  he  also 
is  a  son  of  Abraham." 

I  do  not  know  whether  Zaccheus  had  any 
little  children,  but  if  he  had,  how  glad  they 
must  have  been  to  hear  Jesus  say  salvation 
wras  come  to  the  house  or  the  family.  How 
happy  are  the  children  of  a  man  who  believes 
in  Jesus !  A  good  father  prays  for  his  children, 
teaches  them,  takes  them  to  the  house  of  God, 
and  begs  them  to  be  good,  and  to  love  Christ. 

Zaccheus  never  could  forget  the  visit  that 
Jesus  had  made  to  his  family.  How  often  he 
would  talk  of  it,  and  call  to  mind  all  that  Jesus 
had  done  and  said.  How  often  he  must  have  re- 
peated this  sweet  sentence  :  "  The  Son  of  man 
is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was 
lost." 

Jesus  is  not  now  walking  about  the  world. 


THE    MAN    IN    THE    TREE.  191 

but  many  of  his  servants  are,  and  they  go  like 
him  to  seek  the  lost.  They  go  to  the  houses 
of  sinners  ;  they  go  to  the  rooms  of  sinners ; 
they  stand  by  the  dying  beds  of  sinners,  and 
tell  them  of  the  Saviour.  Has  a  good  man 
ever  visited  your  father's  house  ?  It  might  be 
a  minister,  or  it  might  be  a  good  man  who 
was  not  a  minister.  Did  he  come  and  talk 
to  you  of  Jesus  ?  Perhaps  he  often  comes  and 
reads  the  Bible,  and  kneels  down,  and  prays 
with  you  and  your  father  and  mother.  Are 
you  not  glad  to  see  him  ?  Do  you  not  say 
sometimes  to  your  mother,  "  I  think  I  hear  his 
steps  upon  the  stairs  ?"  Do  you  run  and  open 
the  door,  and  beg  him  to  come  in  and  sit  down  ? 
Do  you  keep  quite  still  while  he  is  reading  and 
praying?  Perhaps  he  sometimes  speaks  to 
you,  and  tells  you  that  Jesus  loves  little  children. 
You  may  find  the  history  of  Zaccheus  in 
Luke  19:  1-10. 

Christ  is  merciful  and  mild; 
He  was  once  a  little  child : 
He  whom  heavenly  hosts  adore, 
Lived  on  earth  among  the  poor. 

Then  he  laid  his  glory  by, 
When  for  us  he  came  to  die; 
How  I  wonder  when  I  see 
His  unbounded  love  for  me. 

Children  in  his  arms  he  pressed, 
Kindly  took  them  to  his  breast; 
They,  said  he,  shall  share  my  bliss, 
Fur  of  such  my  kingdom  is. 


CHRIST  m  THE  GARDEN. 

When  the  Lord  Jesus  lived  in  this  world, 
he  used  often  to  go  into  a  garden.  A  garden 
is  a  sweet  place.  There  are  different  kinds  of 
gardens  ;  some  are  very  small,  and  have  little 
walks  in  them,  and  a  few  flower-beds  with  a 
grass  border.  You  will  often  see  such  a  gar- 
den spread  out  before  the  door  of  a  neat  cot- 
tage, and  it  is  very  pleasant  to  look  at  the  gay 
tulips  and  the  lovely  lilies,  and  to  smell  the 
sweet  wall-flowers,  and  hyacinths,  and  roses. 
But  there  are  some  gardens  which  have  large 
trees  in  them,  and  shady  walks.  It  was 
to  such  a  garden  that  Jesus  used  to  go.  He 
had  twelve  friends  who  went  with  him  from 
place  to  place,  and  when  he  sat  in  the  garden 
they  would  sit  with  him  and  listen  to  his 
sweet  words  about  his  Father  in  heaven. 

I  will  now  tell  you  about  the  last  time  that 
the  Lord  Jesus  went  to  the  garden  before  he 
died.  It  was  in  the  evening,  when  it  was 
dark.  All  his  disciples  were  with  him  except 
one,  and  that  one  was  called  Judas  ;  he  was 
very  wicked,  and  he  was  gone  away  from 
Jesus.  But  there  were  eleven  men  still  with 
their  Lord,  and  they  loved  him  very  much. 


CHRIST    IN    THE    GARDEN.  193 

They  knew  that  he  was  very  unhappy  that 
evening,  and  they  were  unhappy  too.  What 
made  Jesus  sad  ?  It  was  this ;  men  had 
sinned,  and  done  very  wickedly,  and  they 
deserved  to  go  to  hell,  to  be  tormented  for 
ever ;  but  Jesus  had  come  into  the  world  to 
die  for  their  sins.  Oh,  was  not  this  kind  in 
Jesus  Christ  to  die  for  sinners  such  as  you  and 
I  ?  And  was  it  not  kind  in  God  his  Father  to 
give  up  his  only  Son  to  suffer  pain  and  grief, 
that  we  might  not  suffer  pain  and  grief  for 
ever  and  ever  ?  Now  you  see  why  Jesus  was 
sad.  He  was  going  to  die  for  our  sins ;  the 
time  was  almost  come :  this  was  his  last 
evening.  He  had  come  into  the  garden  to 
pray  to  his  Father.  It  is  a  great  comfort  in 
trouble  to  pray  to  God.  When  the  Lord  was 
at  the  garden-gate,  he  said  to  his  friends,  "  Sit 
ye  here,  while  1  go  and  pray  yonder."  He  took 
three  of  his  friends  with  him,  and  eight  were  left 
near  the  garden-gate.  Should  you  like  to 
know  the  names  of  the  three  who  went  with 
Jesus  ?  They  were  Peter,  and  James,  and 
John.  They  often  were  with  Jesus  when  no 
one  else  was  there  besides. 

When  the  Lord  had  gone  some  way,  he 
said  to  Peter,  James,  and  John,  "  My  soul  is 
exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death:  tarry 
ye  here,  and  watch  with  me."  Then  he  went 
a  very  little  way  off,  and  lay  with  his  face  on 
the  ground,  and  began  to  pray  to  his  Father, 
and  these  were  the  words  he  said  :  "  O,  my 
17 


194  CHRIST.  IN    THE    GARDEN. 

Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from 
me."  What  did  he  mean  by  this  cup  ?  He 
did  not  mean  a  real  cup.  He  was  going  to  be 
tormented  by  the  wicked  devil,  and  to  be 
nailed  upon  a  cross  of  wood  till  he  died.  It 
was  not  a  cup  of  bitter  medicine  he  was  going 
to  drink,  but  a  cup  of  pain  and  grief,  and  he 
asked  his  Father  not  to  let  him  drink  it.  But 
then  he  knew  that  his  Father  loved  us  sinners, 
and  wished  to  save  us,  so  Jesus  finished  his 
prayer  with  these  words,  "  Not  as  I  will,  but 
as  thou  wilt."  What  a  sweet  prayer  this 
was !  Jesus  did  not  wish  to  do  his  own  will, 
but  his  Father's  will.  When  we  pray  to  God 
in  our  troubles,  let  us  say  the  same,  "  Not  as  I 
will,  but  as  thou  wilt." 

After  Jesus  had  prayed,  he  went  to  his 
three  friends,  but  he  found  them  sleeping,  for 
they  were  very  tired,  and  very  unhappy.  He 
was  not  angry,  but  he  said  to  them  gently, 
"  Could  ye  not  watch  with  me  one  hour  ?" 
Then  he  went  back  again  to  pray,  and  he  said 
the  same  words  he  had  said  before.  After  he  had 
prayed  he  returned  to  his  friends,  but  he  found 
them  asleep,  and  when  he  spoke  to  them  they 
did  not  know  what  to  answer  him.  They 
knew  they  ought  to  have  be"en  praying  and 
watching  with  their  Lord.  Jesus  went  back 
again  to  pray  the  third  time.  His  Father 
heard  his  prayers,  and  he  sent  an  angel  from 
heaven  to  comfort  him. 

How  glad  that  angel  must  have  been  to  go 


CHRIST    IN    THE    GARDEN.  ]95 

to  his  Lord  !  for  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God,  and 
is  greater  than  all  the  angels.  •  Before  he  came 
into  this  world  to  be  a  man,  he  was  with  his 
Father  in  heaven,  and  he  made  everything, 
and  he  made  the  angels.  But  what  a  sad 
sight  the  angel  saw  when  he  came  down  and 
found  Jesus  in  the  garden !  The  Son  of  God 
was  in  such  great  sorrow  and  trouble,  that  the 
blood  came  through  his  skin  while  he  prayed, 
and  it  fell  on  the  ground  in  great  drops.  Oh, 
what  pain  the  blessed  Saviour  must  have  felt ! 
It  was  for  us,  and  not  for  the  angel,  he  was 
suffering  all  this  pain.  That  angel  had  never 
sinned,  but  we  have  sinned,  every  day  and 
every  hour. 

After  Jesus  had  prayed  very  earnestly,  he 
came  back  the  third  time  to  his  friends.  Were 
they  sleeping  still  ?  Yes  they  were ;  they 
had  not  seen  the  bright  angel  talking  to  their 
Lord.  This  time  Jesus  said  to  his  three 
friends,  "  Rise  up,  let  us  go."  He  told  them 
that  the  people  who  hated  him  were  coming, 
and  so  they  were.  While  Jesus  was  yet 
speaking,  a  number  of  men  came  near,  with 
lamps  in  their  hands  and  great  sticks  and 
swords.  And  who  was  showing  them  the 
way  ?  It  was  the  wicked  Judas.  He  had 
often  been  in  the  garden  w7ith  his  Master,  and 
he  knew  where  to  find  him.  The  Lord  did 
not  go  away,  but  let  the  wicked  people  take 
hold  of  him. 

Oh,   what   a    loving    Saviour   Jesus   was ! 


]96       CHRIST  IN  THE  GARDEN. 

Now  he  is  alive  again,  and  is  ready  to  hear 
our  prayers,  and  to  pardon  our  sins,  and  to 
give  us  new  hearts,  and  to  take  us  to  heaven. 
This  history  may  be  found  in  Matthew  26  : 
36-47 ;  Mark  14  :  32-43  ;  Luke  22  :  39-47  ; 
John  18:  1-4. 


He,  who  was  a  King  above, 
Left  his  kingdom  for  a  grave, 

Out  of  pity  and  of  love, 

That  the  guilty  he  might  save  : 

Down  to  this  sad  world  he  flew 

For  such  little  ones  as  you. 

Stretch'd  upon  the  cross,  behold, 
How  his  tender  limbs  are  torn  ! 

For  a  royal  crown  of  gold, 

They  have  made  him  one  of  thorn  ! 

Cruel  hands,  that  dare  to  bind 

Thorns  upon  a  brow  so  kind. 

Come  then,  children,  come  and  see! 

Lift  your  little  hands  to  pray  j 
'<  Blessed  Jesus,  pardon  me, 

Help  a  guilty  infant,"  say  ; 
"  Since  it  was  for  such  as  1 

Thou  didst  condescend  to  die.'* 


THE  MAN  WHO  SAT  BY  THE   FIRE 
IN  THE  HALL. 

Once  the  Son  of  God  lived  in  this  world- 
Is  not  that  wonderful  ?  He  became  a  man, 
and  he  had  a  body  and  a  soul  just  as  you  have. 
Would  you  have  liked  to  have  seen  him  ?  I 
•think  you  would.  There  were  twelve  men 
who  walked  about  with  him  from  place  to 
place.  They  were  called  his  disciples.  One 
of  them  was  named  Simon  Peter.  He  loved 
Jesus,  the  Son  of  God. 

Sometimes  Jesus  used  to  say  to  his  twelve 
disciples,  "I  shall  soon  die;  wicked  men  will 
kill  me  ;  they  will  nail  me  on  a  cross,  but  I  shall 
rise  again  out  of  my  grave."  The  disciples 
were  very  sorry  to  hear  their  Master  talk  in 
this  way ;  they  could  not  bear  to  think  that 
he  should  die.  Once  Peter  said,  "  Lord,  I  am 
ready  to  go  with  thee  both  into  prison,  and  to 
death."  Then  Jesus  said  to  Peter,  "  This  night, 
before  the  cock  crow  twice,  thou  shalt  thrice 
deny  that  thou  knowest  me."  Jesus  was 
God,  and  he  knew  all  that  was  going  to  happen. 
Peter  could  not  believe  that  he  would  ever  say 
he  did  not  know  his  dear  Master,  but  Peter  did 
17* 


198  THE    MAN    WHO    SAT 

not  know  how  much  naughtiness  there  was  in 
his  heart. 

That  very  night  some  wicked  men  came 
into  a  garden  where  Jesus  was,  and  bound  him 
with  ropes,  and  took  him  to  a  great  house.  The 
judges  were  seated  on  high  seats  in  that  great 
house  or  hall.  Peter  was  very  sorry  to  see  his 
Master  taken  away,  and  he  went  after  him. 
He  did  not  go  with  him,  but  he  followed  him 
some  way  off.  There  was  a  woman  at  the 
door,  and  she  let  him  go  in  ;  then  Peter  sat  by  a 
fire,  and  warmed  himself.  Soon  the  woman  who 
had  let  Peter  in,  looked  at  him,  and  said, '"  Thou 
also  art  one  of  his  disciples."  Then  Peter  was 
afraid  lest  the  wicked  people  should  use  him 
ill,  as  they  did  his  Master,  and  he  said  to  the 
woman,  "Woman,  I  know  him  not."  That 
was  a  lie — a  dreadful  lie.  Presently  after- 
wards Peter  left  the  hall,  and  went  out  into  the 
porch.  Then  the  cock  crew.  Did  Peter  re- 
member what  Jesus  had  said?  No,  he  did 
not ;  he  took  no  notice  of  the  crowing  of  the 
cock.  While  he  was  in  the  porch,  a  man  said 
to  him,  "  Thou  art  also  of  them."  Peter  an- 
swered, "  Man,  I  am  not ;"  and  not  content 
with  telling  this  lie,  he  soon  began  to  swear  he 
did  not  know  the  Lord. 

He  returned  into  the  great  house.  There 
his  Master  was.  The  wicked  people  were 
round  him,  laughing  at  him,  beating  him,  and 
even  spitting  at  him.  Several  persons  came 
up  to  Peter,  and  said,  "  Surely  thou  art  one  of 


BY    THE    FIRE.  199 

them."  Then  he  began  to  curse  and  to  swear, 
and  to  say,  "  I  do  not  know  the  man."  While 
he  was  speaking  in  this  wicked  manner,  the 
cock  crew  again,  and  Jesus  himself  turned  to- 
wards Peter,  and  looked  at  him.  Now  Peter 
remembered  what  Jesus  had  said  to  him  ;  now 
he  felt  very  sorry  indeed  for  his  wickedness. 
He  left  the  hall,  and  began  to  weep  very  bitter- 
ly. He  thought  over  all  that  had  happened — 
how  kind  his  Master  had  been  to  him,  and  how 
ungratefully  he  had  behaved.  Could  he  ever 
forget  that  look  which  Jesus  had  cast  upon 
him?  What  sort  of  a  look  do  you  think  it 
was — an  angry  look  or  a  sorrowful  look?  I 
think  there  was  more  sorrow  than  anger  in  it. 

Did  the  Lord  Jesus  forgive  Peter  his  great 
sin  ?  Yes,  he  did.  The  next  day  Jesus  was 
crucified,  and  was  buried.  But  he  only  lay 
three  days  in  his  grave.  On  the  morning  of 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  very  early  he  rose 
again.  How  glad  Peter  was  to  see  him  again! 
Jesus  did  not  say  to  Peter,  "  I  cannot  love  you 
any  more,  because  you  behaved  so  ill  that 
night.''"  No;  Jesus  said  to  him,  "  Lovest  thou 
me?"  And  Peter  said,  "Yea,  Lord,  thou 
knowest  that  I  love  thee."  Jesus  asked  him 
three  times  over  if  he  loved  him,  and  Peter 
said  three  times  over  that  he  did  love  him. 

Jesus  is  now  in  heaven  with  God  his  Father, 
and  Peter  is  there  too.  Jesus  wants  you  to 
love  him.  He  has  been  very  kind  to  you ;  he 
made  your  body,  for  he  is  God.     He  died  on  the 


200  THE    MAN    WHO    SAT 

cross  to  save  you  from  going  to  hell.  Do  you 
love  him  ?  How  wicked  it  would  be  not  to 
love  him!  It  is  very  wicked  not  love  your 
father  or  your  mother,  but  it  is  more  wicked 
still  not  to  love  Jesus. 

When  you  do  wrong  Jesus  sees  you,  and  if 
you  are  sorry  for  your  sin,  and  cry  about  it, 
Jesus  sees  your  tears.  Children  who  really 
love  Jesus  are  very  sorry  when  they  have 
done  wrong;  but  other  children  say,  "  I  don't 
care."  I  am  afraid  lest  they  should  go  to  hell. 
Did  you  ever  cry  because  you  had  displeased 
God  ?  You  have  often  cried — what  has  it 
been  about  ?  Was  it  because  you  were  cold 
and  hungry  ?  Was  it  because  you  had  a  pain 
in  your  head  ?  Was  it  because  a  boy  had 
taken  away  your  things,  or  because  he  had 
struck  you  a  blow?  Was  it  because  your 
father  was  angry  with  you,  and  was  going  to 
punish  you  ? 

I  dare  say  you  have  cried  for  all  these  rea- 
sons. Have  you  ever  cried  about  your  sins  ? 
It  is  a  good  day  when  a  boy  or  a  girl  sits  in 
some  corner,  and  thinks  over  sins  that  are 
past,  and  feels  sorry,  and  prays  to  God,  and 
says,  "  O  God  forgive  me,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus 
who  died  upon  the  cross,  and  give  me  thy  Holy 
Spirit  to  make  me  good." 

You  may  read  the  history  of  Peter's  sin  in 
Matt.  26:  69,  to  end  ;  Mark  14  :  66,  to  end' 
Luke  22:  54-62;  John  18  :  15-27. 


BY    THE    FIRE.  201 


Ashamed  of  Jesus  !  that  dear  triend, 
On  whom  my  hopes  of  heaven  depend ! 
No  ;  when  I  blush,  be  this  my  shame, 
That  I  no  more  revere  his  name. 

Ashamed  of  Jesus  !  yes,  I  may 
When  I've  no  guilt  to  wash  away, 
No  tears  to  wipe,  no  good  to  crave, 
No  fears  to  quell,  no  soul  to  save. 

Till  then — nor  is  my  boasting  vain— 
Till  then  I  boast  a  Saviour  slain ! 
And  oh,  may  this  my  glory  be, 
That  Christ  is  not  asham'd  of  me. 


THE 

MAN  WHO  HANGED  HIMSELF. 

These  are  a  great  many  wicked  people  in 
the  world.  No  one  but  God  knows  who  is  the 
most  wicked,  for  he  sees  into  the  heart.  I  am 
going  to  tell  3^ou  the  history  of  a  very  wicked 
man.  He  was  a  liar,  a  thief,  and  a  murderer  ; 
and  worse  than  all,  he  was  a  hypocrite,  that  is, 
he  was  a  man  who  pretended  to  be  good. 
What  was  his  name  ?  Judas.  Where  did  he 
live?  In  a  country  a  great  way  off,  called 
Canaan.  It  was  the  land  of  the  Jews.  When 
did  he  live?  More  than  eighteen  hundred 
years  ago.  He  has  been  dead  a  long  while, 
but  his  history  is  written  in  the  Bible.  When 
Judas  was  alive,  the  Son  of  God  was  living  in 
this  world  for  a  little  while.  Did  Jesus  the 
Son  of  God  ever  speak  to  Judas  ?  Yes,  he 
did,  and  he  chose  him  to  be  one  of  the  twelve 
men  who  were  always  with  him.  Are  you  not 
surprised  to  hear  this  ?  Jesus  knew  that  Judas 
was  wicked,  yet  he  let  him  come  after  him. 
Jesus  often  talked  to  him,  and  told  him  about 
his  Father  in  heaven.  Jesus  was  very  kind 
to  him,  yet  Judas  did  not  love  Jesus.  The 
men  who  were  with  Jesus  were  called  his  dis- 


THE    MAN    WHO    HANGED    HIMSELF.         203 

ciples.  The  other  disciples  thought  that  Judas 
was  good  :  they  all  put  their  money  into  one 
bag,  and  they  let  Judas  take  care  of  that  bag  ; 
they  did  not  know  that  he  often  took  the 
money  out  of  it,  and  kept  it  himself.  Judas 
was  a  thief,  but  he  was  not  found  out  for  a  long 
time.  Jesus  knew  that  he  was  a  thief,  because 
he  knows  all  things. 

Once  a  good  woman  named  Mary  poured 
some  very  sweet  stuff  upon  the  head  of  Jesus, 
and  upon  his  feet.  This  ointment  was  in  a 
beautiful  white  box,  but  Mary  broke  the  box 
to  pour  it  out  upon  Jesus.  When  Judas  saw 
what  she  had  done,  he  said  it  was  a  great  pity 
she  had  wasted  the  ointment  upon  Jesus,  and 
that  it  would  have  been  better  to  have  sold  it 
and  given  the  money  to  the  poor.  But  had 
Mary  wasted  the  ointment?  Oh,  no;  it  was 
not  too  good  to  be  given  to  the  Son  of  God ; 
nothing  could  be  too  good  for  him  who  is  all 
goodness.  But  why  did  Judas  wish  the  oint- 
ment had  been  sold  ?  His  reason  was,  that 
he  thought  the  money  would  have  been  put 
into  the  bag  for  him  to  give  to  the  poor,  and 
then  he  could  have  stolen  some  of  it.  He 
pretended  to  care  for  the  poor,  for  he  was  very 
sly.  Jesus  knew  all  that  Judas  was  thinking 
about,  and  he  said  that  Mary  had  done  right  in 
pouring  the  ointment  upon  his  head.  Then 
Judas  was  very  angry,  because  Jesus  had 
taken  Mary's  part,  and  he  went  out  of  the 
room.     And   where   did   he   °o  ?      To   some 


204  THE    MAN    WHO 

wicked  men  who  wanted  to  kill  Jesus.  It  was 
night,  and  these  wicked  men  were  saying  to 
each  other,  "  How  shall  we  get  hold  of  Jesus, 
that  we  may  have  him  killed  ?  In  the  day  we 
are  afraid  of  taking  him,  because  the  people 
like  him  very  much,  and  we  do  not  know 
where  he  goes  at  night."  Judas  came  in  and 
said  to  the  wicked  men,  "I  will  show  you 
where  Jesus  goes  at  night."  Then  the  wicked 
men  were  pleased,  and  promised  to  give  Judas 
thirty  pieces  of  silver. 

Two  days  afterwards  Jesus  took  his  last  sup- 
per with  his  twelve  disciples.  Judas  was 
there.  Jesus  told  his  disciples  that  he  should 
soon  die.  All  the  disciples,  except  Judas,  were 
very  sorry  to  hear  him  say  this.  Then  Jesus 
said,  "One  of  you  will  betray  me."  What 
did  he  mean  ?  He  meant  that  one  of  his  dis- 
ciples would  show  the  wicked  people  where  he 
went  at  night.  Then  each  of  the  disciples 
said,  "Lord,  is  it  I?"  And  at  last  Judas  said. 
"  Is  it  I  ?"  Then  Jesus  said  that  it  was. 
Soon  afterwards,  Jesus  told  Judas  to  do 
quickly  what  he  was  going  to  do.  Then 
Judas  got  up,  and  went  out  of  the  room.  The 
other  disciples  thought  he  was  gone  to  buy 
something  at  the  shop,  or  to  give  something  to 
the  poor,  but  he  was  gone  to  the  wicked  peo- 
ple. He  knew  where  Jesus  was  going  that 
night,  and  he  meant  to  bring  the  wicked  people 
there. 

After  Judas  was  gone,  Jesus  left  the  room 


HANGED     HIMSELF.  205 

and  went  down  stairs,  and  walked  along  the 
streets.  His  disciples  went  with  him.  They 
came  at  last  to  a  garden  full  of  high  trees. 
There  they  used  often  to  go  with  Jesus.  This 
night  Jesus  went  alone  to  one  part  of  the  gar- 
den, and  prayed  to  his  Father.  He  was  very 
sad.  At  last  he  came  back  to  his  disciples. 
Just  at  that  moment  <i  number  of  men  were 
seen  with  lamps  in  their  hands.  Judas  show- 
ed them  the  way";  he  went  up  to  Jesus  and 
kissed  him.  Why  did  he  kiss  him  ?  Only  to 
show  the  men  which  was  Jesus.  How  very 
wicked  it  was  to  pretend  to  love  Jesus  while 
he  helped  people  to  kill  him !  Jesus  knew 
why  he  kissed  him,  but  he  spoke  very  gently 
to  him,  and  said,  "  Friend,  wherefore  art  thou 
come  ?"  The  wicked  people  seized  Jesus, 
bound  him  with  ropes,  and  said  he  must  come 
with  them.  Then  all  the  disciples  were  fright- 
ened, and  ran  away.  The  wicked  men  made 
Jesus  stand  before  them  all  the  night.  In  the 
morning  they  said  that  he  must  be  killed. 
Next  day  he  was  nailed  to  a  cross  of  wood  till 
he  died.  Oh,  what  a  painful  death  this  was  ! 
But  Jesus  came  down  from  heaven  that  he 
might  die  instead  of  us.  If  he  had  not  died, 
we  should  all  have  gone  to  hell ;  but  now,  if 
we  love  Jesus,  we  shall  go  to  heaven.  How 
kind  it  was  in  Jesus  to  die  for  sinners  such  as 
you  and  me !     Ought  we  not  to  love  him  ? 

When    Judas  heard  that  the  wicked   men 
had  said  that  Jesus  must  be  killed,  he  was  very 
18 


206  THE    MAN    WHO 

sorry.  He  did  not  like  to  keep  the  thirty 
pieces  of  silver.  He  felt  he  had  behaved  very 
wickedly  to  his  kind,  good  Master,  the  Lord 
Jesus.  What  could  he  do  with  the  money  ? 
He  did  not  like  to  keep  it ;  he  did  not  like  to 
spend  it;  so  he  took  it  back  to  the  men  who 
gave  it  to  him.  He  said  he  had  done  very 
wrong ;  Jesus  was  good,  and  he  had  betrayed 
him  to  be  killed.  But  the  wicked  men  were 
not  sorry — they  did  not  care — so  Judas  threw 
down  the  pieces  of  silver  and  went  away. 

Where  did  he  go  ?  If  he  had  gone  and  sin- 
cerely prayed  for  forgiveness,  God  would  have 
forgiven  him ;  for  he  pardons  all  who  are 
really  sorry  for  their  sins.  But  Judas  did  not 
pray.  He  felt  very  unhappy,  so  he  thought  he 
would  kill  himself.  It  is  very  wicked  for  a 
man  to  kill  himself.  Judas  went  into  a  field 
and  hanged  himself  up  in  some  high  place ; 
and  while  he  was  hanging  he  fell  down,  and 
his  body  burst  open,  and  all  his  bowels  came 
out  upon  the  "ground.  It  must  have  been  a 
dreadful  sight.  Everybody  who  lived  in  the 
town  heard  of  it,'  and  they  called  the  place 
where  Judas  died,  "  the  field  of  blood." 

And  what  became  of  the  soul  of  Judas  ? 
He  went  to  his  father  the  devil,  to  be  tor- 
mented in  hell  forever  and  ever.  It  would 
have  been  good  for  Judas  if  he  had  never  been 
born.  Had  his  parents  known  when  he  was  a 
child  what  a  wicked  man  he  would  have  grown 
up,  oh,  how  sorry  they  would  have  been ! 


HANGED      HIMSELF.  207 

I  hope  your  parents  will  never  be  sorry  that 
you  were  born.  I  hope  that  you  yourself  will 
never  be  sorry  that  you  were  born.  The 
wicked  in  hell  wish  that  they  had  never  been 
born.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  be  born,  if  we  go 
to  heaven  when  we  die.  How  sweet  to  be  like 
the  angels  in  heaven  !  Pray  to  God  to  forgive 
you  all  your  sins,  and  to  make  you  like  an 
angel. 

You  will  find  part  of  Judas'  history  in  Matt. 
26  :  47-50  ;  27  :  1-10 


THE  JUDGE. 

Have  you  seen  a  judge  upon  his  high  seat, 
judging  a  thief  or  a  murderer  ?  Many  people 
crowd  into  the  place  when  a  bad  man  is  taken 
before  the  judge.  Once  a  very  good  man  was 
taken  before  a  judge;  there  were  some  wicked 
people  who  hated  this  good  man,  and  who 
wanted  to  have  him  killed ;  they  brought  him 
to  the  judge  early  one  morning,  and  they  said 
"  This  man  says  we  ought  not  to  mind  oui 
king,  or  to  pay  taxes  to  him  ;  he  says  that  he 
is  a  king  himself."  The  judge  knew  nothing 
about  this  man  ;  he  did  not  knowT  whether  he 
was  good  or  bad,  but  he  thought  he  looked 
good.  Do  you  know  who  this  good  man 
was  ?  He  was  the  Son  of  God,  come  from 
heaven  to  live  in  this  world  for  a  little  while. 
His  name  was  Jesus  Christ ;  he  was  a  King, 
but  he  was  not  like  the  kings  of  this  world  ; 
he  was  the  King  of  heaven,  and  the  King  of 
kings.  Who  was  the  judge  ?  His  name  was 
Pontius  Pilate ;  he  knew  nothing  about  God ;  he 
was  a  heathen,  and  had  been  taught  to  worship 
idols.  Pilate  thought  that  Jesus  was  good, 
and  he  said  to  the  wicked  men  who  brought 
him,"  I  find  no  fault  in  him."     Then  the  wick- 


THE    JUDGE.  200 

ed  men  were  more  angry,  and  said  that  Jesus 
had  done  a  great  many  wrong  things.  While 
they  were  speaking,  Jesus  said  nothing;  he 
was  as  meek  as  a  lamb,  and  they  were  as  fierce 
as  lions  and  tigers. 

It  was  the  rich  and  great  people  who  hated 
Jesus  the  most.  Pilate  thought  that  perhaps 
the  poor  people  would  wish  him  to  be  set  free. 
It  was  the  custom  to  let  one  prisoner  loose  every 
year.  Pilate  said  to  the  people,  "  Whom  will 
ye  that  I  release  unto  you  ?  Barabbas,  or 
Jesus,  which  is  called  Christ  ?"  Now  this 
Barabbas  was  a  robber  and  a  murderer.  The 
people  answered,  "  Barabbas."  It  was  the 
rich  and  great  men  who  had  persuaded  the 
people  to  ask  for  Barabbas.  How  shocking  it 
was  to  hear  crowds  of  people  crying  out  with 
loud  voices  in  the  street,  "  Not  this  man,  but 
Barabbas  !"  Jesus  had  been  very  kind  to  the 
people ;  he  had  cured  those  who  were  sick, 
and  blind,  and  lame  ;  he  had  fed  the  hungry ; 
he  had  blessed  the  little  children,  and  he  had 
taught  the  poor  all  day  long  about  God  :  and 
yet  now  they  cried  out,  "  Away  with  this 
man,  and  release  unto  us  Barabbas." 

Pilate  was  sorry  to  hear  them  speak  in  this 
way,  and  he  said,  "What  shall  I  do  with 
Jesus  ?"  They  cried  out,  "  Crucify  him  ! 
Crucify  him !"  They  wanted  him  to  be 
nailed  on  a  cross  of  wood  till  he  died.  Oh, 
how  cruel !  While  Pilate  was  on  his  judg- 
ment-seat, his  wife  sent  a  message  to  him;  it 
18* 


210  THE    JUDGE. 

was  to  tell  him  not  to  hurt  Jesus,  for  that  he 
was  good,  and  that  she  had  been  dreaming  a 
very  sad  dream  about  him.  That  was  a  good 
message.  God  had  sent  the  dreams  to  Pilate's 
wife.  Do  you  not  hope  that  Pilate  will  mind 
his  wife's  advice  ?  He  wished  to  mind  it,  but 
//hen  the  people  went  on  crying  out,  "  Crucify 
him  !  Crucify  him !"  He  was  afraid  to  say 
"No,"  lest  they  should  be  angry  with  him 
But  God  would  have  taken  care  of  him,  if  he 
had  only  done  what  he  knew  was  right.  We 
ought  never  to  mind  what  wicked  people  say. 

At  last  Pilate  took  some  water  and  washed 
his  hands  while  everybody  was  looking  at  him. 
Why  ?  Not  to  make  his  hands  clean,  but  to 
show  the  wicked  men  that  he  was  clear  from 
the  blood  of  Jesus.  But  could  water  wash 
his  heart  clean  from  wickedness  ?  No,  it 
could  not ;  it  was  no  use  to  wash  his  hands, 
he  could  not  wash  his  heart.  Then  Pilate 
gave  Jesus  up  to  be  crucified,  and  he  let 
Barabbas  go  out  of  prison.  How  wicked  it 
was  in  Pilate  to  do  so  !  He  knew  better  ;  he 
knew  he  was  doing  wrong.  God  saw  him, 
and  was  angry. 

Before  Jesus  was  crucified,  he  was  scourged ; 
that  is,  his  back  was  beaten  with  hard  ropes 
full  of  knots.  How  that  tender  flesh  must 
have  bled,  as  the  ropes  tore  the  skin  open  ! 
Yet  Jesus  bore  all  the  pain  as  meekly  as  a 
lamb.  After  he  had  been  scourged,  he  was 
tormented  by  the  soldiers.     Hundreds  of  cruel 


THE    JUDGE.  211 

soldiers  came  round  him  and  took  off  his 
clothes,  and  put  on  him  some  fine  clothes  like 
those  which  kings  wear,  only  just  to  laugh  at 
him  ;  and  they  took  some  thorns,  and  made  a 
crown  and  pat  it  on  his  head.  You  know 
that  thorns  are  very  sharp,  and  prick  very 
much.  How  could  the  cruel  men  put  thorns 
on  that  dear  head !  Then  they  took  a  reed 
and  put  it  in  his  hand  for  a  sceptre,  such  as 
kings  hold,  and  they  knelt  down  to  him,  and 
said,  "  Hail,  King  of  the  Jews  !"  How  dread- 
ful it  must  have  been  to  hear  the  laughter  of 
those  soldiers !  But  they  did  more  than 
laugh  ;  they  even  dared  to  beat  him  on  the 
head,  and  to  spit  in  his  face.  How  sweet 
Jesus  must  have  looked,  standing  amongst 
them,  bearing  all  their  cruel  treatment  without 
saying  an  angry  word!  4 

Pilate  saw  Jesus,  and  he  showed  him  to 
the  people  once  more.  Jesus  came  out  of  the 
great  house  where  the  soldiers  had  been  tor- 
menting him,  dressed  in  his  purple  clothes, 
with  his  crown  of  thorns  on  his  head.  Pilate 
said  to  the  people,  "  Behold  your  King!"  But 
did  the  sight  melt  their  hard  hearts  ?  Oh,  no ; 
they  still  cried  out,  "  Crucify  him !  Crucify 
him  !"  Then  Pilate  gave  him.  up  to  be  cru- 
cified. That  very  day  Jesus  was  nailed  up  to 
the  cross  till  he  died.  It  was  a  painful  death, 
but  he  bore  it  that  we  might  not  go  to  hell. 
If  we  believe  in  him,  and  love  him,  we  shall 
go  to  heaven,  and  be  with  him  for  ever ;  for 


212  THE    JUDGE. 

though  Jesus  died  once,  he  was  made  alive 
again,  and  he  went  up  into  heaven,  and  he  is 
there  now,  shining  more  bright  than  the  sun. 
You  may  read  part  of  the  history  of  Pon- 
tius Pilate  in  Matt.  27 :  11-31 ;  John  19  :  1-7. 


Those  soft,  those  blessed  feet  of  his, 

That  once  rude  iron  tore, 
High  on  a  throne  of  light  they  stands 

While  saints  around  adore. 


CHRIST  ON  THE  CROSS. 

There  is  often  a  crowd  of  people  to  be  seen 
in  London.  Why  do  the  crowd  come  to- 
gether ?  Is  it  to  see  the  lord  mayor  pass  along 
with  the  citizens  in  their  gay  clothing  ?  Is  it 
to  look  at  the  sparkling  lamps  on  the  walls 
when  there  is  an  illumination  ?  Or  is  it  to  be- 
hold the  queen  in  all  her  splendor,  riding  in 
her  chariot  of  state  ?  All  these  are  joyful 
sights.  The  people  who  look  out  of  their  win- 
dows have  smiles  on  their  faces,  and  the  little 
children  clap  their  hands,  and  laugh  with  de- 
light. 

But  sometimes  there  are  sad  sights,  and 
crowds  come  to  view.  When  a  great  man 
dies,  and  his  body  is  carried  to  the  tomb,  how 
many  wish  to  see  the  funeral.  There  is  the 
hearse,  covered  with  nodding  plumes,  and 
there  is  the  train  of  coaches,  all  drawn  by 
black  horses,  but  the  coffin  is  hidden,  and  the 
dead  man's  body  is  not  seen.  Oh,  could  we 
see  it,  so  stiff  and  so  pale,  we  should  be  shock- 
ed at  the  sight. 

I  am  going  to  tell  you  of  a  much  sadder 
sight  than  this  :  it  was  not  in  London  this  sight 
was  seen,  but  in  a  city  a  great  way  off.     There 


214  CHRIST    ON    THE    CROSS. 

was  a  crowd  of  people  looking  at  one  man  ; 
that  man  was  covered  with  blood;  his  back 
was  marked  by  the  stripes  of  the  rope,  his  fore- 
head was  pricked  by  thorns  which  had  been 
fastened  round  his  head,  his  face  looked  very 
sad,  as  if  he  had  been  shedding  many  tears  ; 
his  body  was  very  thin,  and  his  knees  were  so 
weak  that  he  could  hardly  stand,  yet  there  was 
a  great  piece  of  wood  on  his  back,  and  he  was 
dragging  it  along,  but  it  seemed  as  if  he  could 
hardly  move  another  step,  it  seemed  as  if  he 
would  faint  and  drop  down  dead  by  the  way. 
There  were  some  soldiers  near  the  man — very 
cruel  men,  who  laughed  at  him  and  abused  him. 
But  they  did  not  wish  him  to  die  on  the  road, 
for  they  were  going  to  kill  him  in  another 
place  ;  they  would  not  help  him  to  drag  the 
wood  along,  but  they  met  a  stranger,  and  they 
made  him  help  to  carry  the  wood.  What  was 
this  wood  for  ?  You  shall  know  soon.  All 
the  crowd  were  not  laughing  at  the  poor  man  ; 
some  were  crying  very  much.  There  were 
some  women  who  seemed  very  unhappy ;  these 
women  loved  the  poor  man,  and  could  not 
bear  to  see  him  ill-treated.  Do  you  think  that 
poor  man  is  good  ?  See  how  gentle  he  looks ! 
Now  hear  him  speak.  How  sweetly  he  speaks ! 
He  turns  round  and  tells  the  poor  women  not 
to  cry  about  him.  Not  one  rude  word  does 
that  poor  man  say  to  all  the  wicked  people 
who  are  laughing  at  him.  Do  you  not  think 
he  must  be  good  ? 


CHRIST    ON    THE    CROSS.  215 

At  Tast  the  soldiers  came  to  a  place  outside 
the  town  ;  they  stop  the  poor  man — they  take 
the  wood  off  his  shoulders — they  lay  it  on  the 
ground ;  it  is  a  very  large  piece  of  wood,  and 
there  is  another  piece  nailed  across  it.  It  is  a 
cross.  The  soldiers  take  off  the  poor  man's 
clothes,  and  then  they  make  him  lie  upon  the 
cross  ;  they  stretch  out  his  hands,  and  strike  a 
great  nail  through  each  palm  ;  they  stretch  out 
his  legs,  and  strike  great  nails  through  his  ket, 
and  so  they  fasten  him  to  the  wood  ;  then  they 
take  hold  of  the  cross  and  lift  it  up,  and  thrust 
it  into  a  deep  hole  in  the  ground.  Oh,  what  a 
jerk  that  was  for  those  bleeding  wounds  in 
those  hands  and  feet !  It  is  morning,  about 
nine  o'clock;  it  is  beginning  to  get  hot,  for 
the  weather  is  hot.  What  a  crowd  collects 
round  that  cross !  What  loud  laughs  are 
heard !  Some  people  say,  "  If  thou  be  the  Son 
of  God,  come  down  from  the  cross."  And  is 
he  the  Son  of  God?  Oh,  yes,  he  is;  he  came 
down  from  heaven  to  die  instead  of  you  and 
me,  my  child.  We  all  deserve  to  die,  and  to  go 
to  hell.  But  the  Son  of  God  never  did  any- 
thing wrong;  it  was  very  wicked  in  people  to 
kill  him.  Is  he  angry  with  the  wicked  people? 
What  is  he  saying  upon  the  cross?  He  is 
praying  to  God  his  Father.  This  is  what  he 
says,  "  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do."  Hew  kind  to  pray  for  the  people 
who  were  killing  him  !  The  soldiers  do  not  pity 
him.     What  are  they  doing  with  those  clothes  ? 


216  CHRIST    ON    THE    CROSS. 

They  are  dividing  them  between  them ;  the 
four  soldiers  tear  the  clothes  into  four  parts ; 
there  is  one  garment,  something  like  a  shirt, 
only  with  no  seam  in  it,  but  woven  all  in  one 
piece  ;  the  soldiers  do  not  like  to  tear  that,  so 
they  cast  lots  for  it,  to  see  who  will  get  it. 
These  soldiers  care  for  the  clothes,  but  not  for 
the  Son  of  God.  O  foolish  soldiers,  that  poor 
man  whom  you  laugh  at  could  give  you  better 
clothes  than  those — clothes  that  would  never 
wear  out.  All  the  people  who  love  the  Son  of 
God  shall  live  with  him,  and  wear  white  and 
beautiful  clothes,  aad  never  be  hungry  any 
more,  or  thirsty,  or  sick,  or  unhappy. 

Would  you  like  to  live  with  the  Son  of  God  ? 
His  name  is  Jesus,  which  means  Saviour.  He 
can  save  you  from  going  to  hell. 

At  last  it  is  twelve  o'clock ;  all  at  once  it 
grows  quite  dark,  though  it  is  the  middle  of 
the  day.  No  one  now  can  see  the  face  of 
Jesus.  Do  you  not  think  the  darkness  must 
frighten  the  wicked  people  ?  It  is  a  sign  that 
God  is  angry.  Still,  the  people  go  on  mocking 
— they  are  not  sorry  for  their  cruelty.  At  last 
a  voice  is" heard  to  say,  "I  thirst!"  It  is  the 
voice  of  Jesus.  He  must  be  thirsty  hanging 
for  six  hours  upon  that  cross  in  the  heat  and  in 
great  pain.  One  of  the  soldiers  dips  a  sponge 
in  vinegar  and  puts  it  on  the  end  of  a  stick, 
and  lifts  it  up  to  the  mouth  of  Jesus — it 
touches  his  dry  lips — then  a  voice  is   heard 


CHRIST    ON    THE    CROSS.  217 

again,  saying,  e*  It  is  finished!"  that  means,  it  is 
a!!  done. 

Once  more  a  loud  voice  is  heard.  It  is 
Jesus  praying  his  Father  to  take  his  soul,  and 
then  he  bows  his  head  and  dies.  Then  the  earth 
shakes,  and  great  cracks  are  seen  in  the  hard 
rocks,  and  the  wicked  people  are  very  much 
afraid.  Then  it  becomes  light,  and  they  can 
see  the  dead  body  of  Jesus  hanging  on  the 
cross.  Where  is  his  soul !  With  his  Father 
in  heaven.  His  pain  is  over;  his  sorrow  is 
gone ;  he  is  happy  now,  and  he  will  be  happy 
forever.  His  body  is  put  into  the  ground,  but 
it  soon  rises  out  of  the  tomb,  and  goes  up  to 
God,  for  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God. 

There  are  a  great  many  souls  with  Jesus  in 
heaven  now.  All  who  love  him  go  up  to  be 
with  him  when  they  die,  but  the  wicked  are 
cast  down  into  darkness  with  the  devil.  May 
you  never  go  there  !  Jesus  died  to  save  you, 
but  if  you  will  go  on  being  wicked  he  cannot 
save  you.  How  glad  Jesus  is  when  any  boy  or 
girl  says  to  him,  "Jesus,  save  me!''  How 
glad  Jesus  will  be  to  take  your  soul  to  heaven 
when  you  die. 

Would  you  read  about  the  death  of  Jesus, 
look  at  Matt.  27:  31-54;  Mark  25:20-39; 
Luke  23:  2G-48;  John  19:  1(3-31. 


19 


218  CHRIST     OX    THE    CROSS 

Alas,  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed, 
And  did  my  Sovereign  die  % 

Did  he  devote  his  sacred  head 
For  such  a  worm  as  I  ? 

Was  it  for  crimes  that  I  had  done 
He  groaned  upon  the  tree  ? 

Amazing  pity  !  grace  unknown  ! 
And  love  beyond  degree  ! 

Well  might  the  sun  in  darkness  hide 
And  shut  his  glories  in, 

When  God,  the  mighty  Maker,  died 
For  man,  the  creature's,  ain. 


THE  DYING  THIEF. 

Some  people  fall  sick,  lie  upon  their  beds, 
and  die  there.  Some  people  meet  with  an 
accident,  and  are  suddenly  killed — they  are 
burned,  they  are  drowned,  they  are  crushed 
under  a  wheel,  or  kicked  by  a  horse,  or  dashed 
to  pieces  by  a  fall.  Some  people  are  put  to 
death ;  they  are  accused  of  having  murdered 
one  of  their  fellow-creatures,  and  are  hanged 
up  by  the  neck  till  they  die.  Which  of  all 
these  ways  of  dying  is  the  most  dreadful  ?  Is 
it  not  the  last  ?  It  is  dreadful  to  be  put 
to  death  on  account  of  crimes  we  have  done. 

In  our  country,  none  but  murderers  are 
executed ;  but  in  other  countries,  thieves  are 
often  put  to  death.  Here  the  punishment  is 
hanging,  but  in  other  countries  there  are  other 
ways  of  killing  wicked  men  ;  in  one  place  the 
head  is  cut  off,  in  another  the  body  is  pierced 
with  spears. 

Sometimes  good  people  are  put  to  death. 
Wicked  people  accuse  them,  and  the  judge 
believes  the  accusers,  and  orders  them  to  be 
executed.  The  best  man  who  ever  lived  was 
put  to  death. 

The  Son  of  God  once  became  a  man ;  he 


THE    DYING     THIEF.  220 

was  called  Jesus?  Wicked  men  hated  him, 
accused  him,  and  killed  him.  How  did  they 
kill  him  ?  In  a  most  cruel  way.  They  took 
a  large  piece  of  wood,  and  placed  another  piece 
across  it.  Then  they  laid  Jesus  down  upon 
the  wood,  and  nailed  his  feet  to  the  end  of  it, 
and  they  stretched  out  his  arms,  and  nailed 
each  hand  to  the  end  of  the  other  piece  of 
wood ;  then  they  lifted  up  the  wood,  and  made 
it  stand  upright  in  the  earth.  The  body  of 
Jesus  hung  upon  the  cross,  and  the  nails  tore 
the  tender  flesh  off  his  hands.  Thus  the  Lord 
was  crucified.  There  were  two  other  men 
nailed  upon  crosses  in  the  same  place  as  Jesus. 
They  were  wicked  men ;  they  were  thieves. 
They  were  crucified  on  each  side  of  Jesus, 
one  on  the  right  hand,  and  the  other  on  the 
left ;  they  were  very  near  him,  and  they  could 
speak  to  him,  and  hear  what  he  said.  They 
saw  the  men  passing  by  the  cross  of  Jesus, 
and  looking  up  and  laughing ;  they  heard  them 
reading  what  was  written  over  the  cross, 
"  This  is  the  King  of  the  Jews  ;"  and  they  heard 
them  say,  "If  he  be  the  Son  of  God,  let  him 
come  down  from  the  cross ;"  and  they  could 
hear  Jesus  sweetly  say,  "Father,  forgive  them, 
for  they  know  not  what  they  do." 

And  what  did  the  thieves  do  when  they  saw 
and  heard  these  things  ?  One  of  the  thieves 
began  to  mock  and  abuse  Jesus,  and  he  said, 
"If  thou  be  the  Christ,  save  thyself  and  us." 
That  was  not  a  good  prayer.     The  thief  asked 


THE    DYING    THIEF.  221 

Jesus  to  save  him,  but  he  did  not  believe  he 
could  save  him ;  he  wanted  to  be  saved  from 
dying  on  the  cross,  but  he  did  not  care  about 
being  saved  from  the  everlasting  pains  of  hell. 
The  other  thief  was  quite  different.  He 
was  displeased  to  hear  his  fellow  talk  in  this 
wicked  way  just  as  he  was  dying,  and  he 
spoke  to  him  ;  for,  though  the  cross  of  Jesus 
was  between  them,  he  could  speak  loud  enough 
to  make  him  hear.  He  asked  him  if  he  did 
not  fear  God,  now  that  he  was  condemned  to 
die ;  and  told  him  that  they  deserved  to  die, 
but  Jesus  had  done  nothing  wrong.  You  see 
that  this  thief  was  sorry  for  his  sins ;  you  see, 
also,  that  he  believed  that  Jesus  was  quite 
good.  I  do  not  know  what  the  other  thief 
said,  or  whether  he  gave  any  answer.  The 
thief  who  was  sorry  for  his  sins  then  spoke  to 
Jesus.  This  was  his  prayer,  "  Lord,  remember 
me  when  thou  comest  into  thy  kingdom." 
The  dying  thief  believed  that  Jesus  was  a 
King,  and  that  he  would  one  day  sit  upon  a 
throne.  Did  Jesus  grant  the  poor  thief's 
prayer?  He  gave  him  such  an  answer  as  will 
surprise  you,  if  you  have  never  heard  it  before. 
He  said,  "  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in 
paradise."  What  is  paradise  ?  It  is  heaven. 
That  very  day  the  poor  thief  was  to  be  with 
Jesus  in  heaven.  What  a  change  for  him! 
Instead  of  hanging  on  a  cross,  he  would  sit  in 
the  glorious  palace  of  the  King  of  kings ; 
instead  of  hearing  wicked  men  speak  against 
19* 


222  THE    LtlNG    THIEF. 

Jesus,  he  would  hear  the  bright  angels  sing  his 
praises  ;  instead  of  seeing  the  Son  of  God 
bleed  and  groan,  he  would  see  him  shine  like 
the  light  in  the  kingdom  of  his  Father. 

What  a  happy  thing  it  was  for  that  poor 
thief  that  his  cross  was  placed  so  near  the 
cross  of  Jesus!  It  was  better  to  be  nailed 
there  than  to  be  lying  on  the  softest  bed  any- 
where else.  Had  not  the  thief  been  nailed  to 
that  cross,  he  might  never  have  seen  Jesus,  he 
might  never  have  believed  in  him,  he  might 
never  have  prayed  to  him,  he  might  never 
have  gone  to  live  with  him. 

Was  it  long  before  that  poor  thief  died  ? 
Not  long ;  but  Jesus  died  first.  His  last 
words  were,  "  It  is  finished !"  and  then  he 
died,  at  three  o'clock,  in  the  afternoon.  It 
was  at  nine  in  the  morning  that  he  had  been 
nailed  to  his  cross. 

The  thieves  were  still  hanging  alive  on 
their  crosses,  when  some  soldiers  came  to  see 
whether  they  were  dead.  When  the  soldiers 
saw  that  the  thieves  were  alive,  they  broke 
their  legs,  and  the  pain  killed  them  immediately. 
Then  the  thief  who  loved  Jesus  went  to  be 
with  him.  How  glad  the  angels  were  to  see 
this  sinner  saved  from  hell!  It  was  Jesus 
who  had  saved  him.  If  Jesus  had  not  died 
upon  the  cross,  that  thief  must  have  gone  to 
hell.  It  was  the  blood  of  Jesus  that  washed 
him  from  his  sins ;  it  was  the  spirit  of  Jesus 
that   made   his   heart   sorry,    and   taught   his 


THE    DYING    THIEF.  223 

tongue  to  pray.  How  glad  the  thief  must 
have  been  to  see  again  that  dear  Friend  who 
had  died  by  his  side. 

But  was  it  for  that  thief  only  that  Jesus 
died  ?  Oh,  no  ;  he  died  for  all  the  thieves 
who  ever  have  believed  in  him,  and  who 
ever  shall  believe  in  him.  It  is  a  wTetched 
thing  to  be  a  thief;  God  has  said,  "Thou 
shalt  not  steal,"  and  all  who  go  on  stealing 
shall  be  sent  to  hell.  But  if,  when  thieves, 
whether  old  or  young,  hear  of  Jesus,  they 
are  sorry  for  their  wickedness,  and  ask  him 
to  forgive  them,  they  shall  be  saved.  If 
any  sinner,  when  he  hears  this  history,  thinks 
in  his  heart,  "  I  will  go  on  stealing  till  I  am 
just  going  to  die,  and  then  I  will  be  sorry  and 
ask  God  to  pardon  me/'  that  sinner  is  in  great 
danger  of  being  sent  to  hell.  God  is  very 
angry  with  him  for  intending  to  go  on  in  his 
wickedness.  I  do  not  know  what  God  will  do 
to  him,  but  he  has  cut  off  many  sinners  quite 
suddenly ;  he  has  taken  them  away  in  his 
anger,  and  given  them  no  time  to  repent. 

The  history  of  the  dying  thief  is  to  be 
found  in  Luke  23  :  32,  33.  39-43;  John  19  : 
30-32. 


224  THE    EYING    THIEF. 


The  Saviour  heard  the  poor  thief's  prayer 
And  promised  he  would  take  him  where 

Our  God  and  angels  dwell. 
Alas  !  his  life  was  spent  in  sin  : 
What  joy  a  heaven  at  last  to  win, 

And  to  escape  from  hell ! 

And  oh,  for  him  what  glad  surprise, 
When  heavenly  glories  met  his  eyes, 

And  Christ  array' d  in  light ! 
He  just  had  seen  the  dying  pains 
That  had  releas'd  his  soul  from  chains, 

And  everlasting  night. 

Ah  !  sure  of  all  the  hosts  that  sing 
The  praises  of  their  heavenly  King, 

His  voice  was  loudest  heard  ! 
For  when  just  trembling  on  the  "brink. 
And  just  about  in  hell  to  sink, 

The  Lord  for  him  appear'd. 


CHRIST  W  THE   TOMB. 

Most  children  have  heard  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  was  nailed  upon  a  cross  till  he 
died.  Do  you  know  what  was  done  with  his 
dead  body  ?  Was  it  buried  ?  Where  was  it 
buried  ?  Who  buried  it  ?  The  Bible  answers 
all  these  questions.  There  was  a  rich  man 
who  loved  Jesus  ;  his  name  was  Joseph ;  he 
went  to  the  judge,  and  said,  "  Do  let  me  have 
the  body  of  Jesus,  who  has  been  crucified. " 
And  the  judge  said,  "  Yes,  you  may  have  it." 

It  was  right  in  Joseph  not  to  be  ashamed  to 
ask  for  the  body.  It  was  thought  a  great  dis- 
grace to  be  crucified.  Now,  you  know,  it  is  a 
disgrace  to  be  hanged,  because  it  is  murderers 
who  are  hanged.  But  though  Jesus  had  never 
done  one  sin,  he  was  crucified  as  if  he  had 
been  a  bad  man.  Joseph  knew  he  was  good  ; 
though  people  spoke  against  him,  Joseph  loved 
him  still.  Joseph  was  very  glad  when  he  got 
leave  to  have  the  body  of  his  Lord.  Another 
rich  man  went  with  Joseph  ;  he  was  called 
Nicodemus. 

Joseph  and  Nicodemus  went  together  to  the 
cross,  and  took  the  nails  out  of  the  hands  of 
Jesus,   and  the  nails  out  of  his  feet.     What 


226  CHRIST    IN    THE    TOMB. 

marks  were  left  in  those  dear  hands  and  feet! 
How  the  blood  had  run  down  from  the  wound 
in  his  side  !  It  is  that  blood  which  can  wash 
our  souls  clean  from  all  sin.  Jesus  shed  it  that 
sinners  might  be  forgiven,  and  made  good  and 
holy. 

In  what  was  the  body  put  when  it  was 
taken  down  from  the  cross  ?  Not  in  a  coffin  ; 
Joseph  and  his  friend  wrapped  it  in  a  clean, 
fine,  white  linen  sheet ;  and  they  wrapped  up 
with  it  a  quantity  of  very  nice  sweet-smelling 
spices ;  it  was  a  mixture  of  myrrh  and  aloes. 
But  first  they  bound  a  cloth  round  his  head — 
that  head  which  the  thorns  had  pierced  ;  then 
they  carried  the  bleeding  body  into  a  garden 
very  near  the  cross.  In  this  garden  there  was 
a  rock,  which  was  hard  like  stone,  and  rose  up 
above  the  ground  like  a  little  hill.  In  the  side 
of  the  rock  there  was  a  great  hole — or  cave. 
Joseph  had  once  ordered  this  cave  to  be  made. 
And  why?  That  he  might  be  buried  there 
himself  when  he  died.  But  now  he  was  going 
to  lay  the  body  of  Jesus  in  this  cave.  It  was 
a  sweet  tomb,  for  no  dead  body  had  ever  been 
laid  there  before.  Joseph  was  glad  that  the 
Son  of  God  should  lie  in  his  own  grave. 
There  was  no  door  to  it,  so  Joseph  had  a  very 
great  stone  rolled  before  the  mouth  of  the  cave, 
that  no  beast  or  bird  might  come  in  to  devour 
the  precious  body,  and  that  no  wicked  man 
might  steal  it,  and  carry  it  away. 

It  was  just  as  the  sun  was  setting  that  the 


CHRIST    IX    THE    TOMB.  227 

body  of  our  beloved  Saviour  was  laid  in  the 
touib.  That  night  his  friends  shed  many  bit- 
ter tears,  for  they  thought  they  should  never 
see  him  again  in  this  world.  But  Jesus  could 
not  remain  in  the  grave ;  his  body  could  not 
corrupt,  or  turn  to  dust.  And  why  not?  Be- 
cause he  had  done  no  sin.  Our  bodies  turn  to 
dust  when  we  die,  because  we  are  sinners. 
But  Jesus  had  borne  the  punishment  of  our 
sins,  and  now  all  was  over,  and  his  spirit  was 
with  his  Father  in  heaven,  and  his  wounded 
body  was  resting  for  a  little  while  in  a  tomb, 
and  soon  to  rise  again. 

On  the  third  day  the  Son  of  God  rose  from 
the  dead,  and  now  he  sits  at  the  right  hand  of 
his  Father,  and  he  will  come  again  to  raise  the 
dead,  and  to  judge  the  world. 

"  All  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  his 
voice,  and  shall  come  forth  :  they  that  have 
done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life ;  and 
they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection 
of  damnation."     John  5  :  29. 

You  will  find  accounts  of  the  burial  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  Matt.  28:  57-61  ;  Mark 
15  :  42-46 ;  Luke  23  :  50-53  ;  John  9 :  38,  tc 
end. 


Lo,  at  noon  'tis  sudden  night, 
Darkness  covers  all  the  sky  ! 

Rocks  are  rending  at  the  sight ! 
Children,  can  you  tell  me  why  ? 

What  can  all  these  wonders  be  % 

Jesus  dies  at  Calvary  ! 


228  CHJIIST    IN    THE    TOMB.' 

Nail'd  upon  the  cross,  behold 
How  his  tender  limbs  are  torn  ! 

For  a  royal  crown  of  gold, 

They  have  made  him  one  of  thorn: 

Cruel  hands,  that  dare  to  bind 

Thorns  upon  a  brow  so  kind  ! 

See,  the  blood  is  falling  fast 

From  his  forehead  and  his  side  ! 

Hark  !   he  now  has  breathed  his  last, 
With  a  mighty  groan  he  died  ! 

Children,  shall  I  tell  you  why 

Jesus  condescends  to  die? 

He,  who  was  a  King  above, 
Left  his  kingdom  for  a  grave, 

Out  of  pity  and  of  love, 

That  the  guilty  he  might  save : 

Down  to  this  sad  world  he  flew 

For  such  little  ones  as  you. 

You  were  wretched,  weak,  and  vile ; 

You  deserved  his  holy  frown; 
But  he  saw  you  with  a  smile, 

And,  to  save  you,  hasten'd  down. 
Listen,  children,  this  is  why 
Jesus  condescends  to  die. 

Come  then,  children,  come  and  see  j 
Lift  your  little  hands  to  pray  ; 
"  Blessed  Jesus,  pardon  me. 

Help  a  guilty  infant,''  "say  ; 
"  Since  it  was  for  such  as  I 
Thou  didst  condescend  to  die." 


THE  WOMAN  WEEPING  AT  THE  TOMB, 


(iiWMIM 


Who  has  not  lost  a  friend  ?  It  may  be  that 
a  child  is  reading  this  little  book — but  have 
you  never  lost  a  friend  ?  Have  you  never 
seen  a  little  brother  or  sister  laid  in  its  coffin  ? 
You  loved  that  babe,  so  I  called  it  your  friend. 
Do  you  remember  a  kind  old  man  who  used  to 
let  you  sit  upon  his  knee  ?  Perhaps  you  loved 
your  grandfather,  and  were  sorry  when  ne 
died.  Some  poor  little  children  have  lost  their 
father,  and  some  have  lost  their  mother.  There 
is  no  friend  in  the  world  like  a  father  or  a 
mother.  God  is  the  best  friend  of  all,  and  he 
can  never  die. 

When  the  Son  of  God  came  down  to  be  a 

man,  he  was  killed  by  wicked  men ;  his  friends 

cried  very  much  when  he  died.     He  had  one 

friend  called  Mary  Magdalene ;  he  had   been 

20 


230  THE    WOMAN    WEEPING 

very  kind  to  her.  Once  seven  devils  had  tor 
mented  her;  Jesus  delivered  her  out  of  hei 
trouble,  and  sent  the  devils  away.  Ever  after- 
wards Mary  loved  the  Lord,  and  she  listened 
to  his  sweet  words,  and  she  believed  that  he 
was  the  Son  of  God.  When  she  saw  him 
nailed  to  the  cross,  she  was  very  unhappy.  At 
last  she  saw  the  kind  men  come,  and  take  down 
his  body  from  the  cross,  and  lay  it  in  a  beauti- 
ful grave  in  a  garden.  This  grave  was  dug 
out  of  the  side  of  a  rock,  and  a  very  great 
stone  was  put  before  it.  She  went  home  to 
make  sweet  ointment,  that  she  might  bring  it 
and  put  it  on  her  dear  Lord's  body. 

One  morning  she  came  very  early  to  the 
grave  with  her  ointment,  and  some  other  wo- 
men were  walking  with  her.  But  when  she 
came  within  sight  of  the  tomb,  she  saw  that 
the  great  stone  was  rolled  away;  then  she 
thought,  "  Some  wicked  people  have  rolled 
away  the  stone,  and  have  stolen  the  dead  body 
of  my  dear  Lord."  So  she  did  not  go  any 
further,  but  ran  back  to  the  town  to  ask  some 
good  men  to  come  and  see  what  was  the  mat- 
ter. She  went  to  two  men  who  loved  Jesus 
very  much ;  they  were  called  Peter  and  John 
As  soon  as  they  heard  what  Mary  said,  they 
set  off,  running  as  fast  as  they  could.  John  ran 
the  fastest,  and  got  first  to  the  grave  and  look- 
ed in  ;  Peter  soon  came  there,  too,  and  went 
into  it;  then  John  went  in,  too.  They  saw  the 
linen  in  which  Jesus  had  been  wrapped  neatly 


AT   THE    TOMB.  231 

folded  up,  and  they  saw  the  cloth  which  had 
been  bound  round  his  head  lying  in  a  place  by 
itself.  If  wicked  men  had  stolen  the  body, 
would  they  have  left  the  clothes  ?  or,  if  in  a 
hurry  they  had  left  the  clothes,  would  they 
have  folded  them  up  so  neatly  ?  John  now 
felt  sure  that  Jesus  was  alive  again.  I  do  not 
know  what  Peter  thought. 

Both  Peter  and  John  went  back  to  their 
own  home.  But  Mary  did  not  go  home  ;  she 
stayed  by  the  tomb  all  alone,  and  crying  very 
much.  Soon  she  stooped  down  and  looked  in. 
And  what  did  she  see  ?  The  linen  clothes  ? 
She  saw  two  angels  dressed  in  white  ;  they 
were  sitting  on  the  ground  ;  one  was  sitting 
where  the  bleeding  head  of  Jesus  had  lain,  and 
the  other  where  his  wounded  feet  had  been. 
Was  Mary  frightened  when  she  saw  the  an- 
gels ?  I  think  she  did  not  know  they  were 
angels,  for  she  was  crying  very  much,  and  peo- 
ple cannot  see  clearly  when  they  are  crying. 

The  angels  spoke  to  Mary.  Angels  speak 
kindly  to  every  one  who  loves  Jesus.  The 
angels  said,  "  Woman,  why  weepest  thou?" 
Mary  answered,  "  Because  they  have  taken 
away  my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they 
have  laid  him."  Then  Mary  turned  round 
and  saw  some  one  else  standing  near  her,  but 
she  did  not  know  who  it  was  ;  she  thought  it 
was  the  gardener.  This  man  said  to  her,  "  Wo- 
man, why  weepest  thou  ?"  She  answered, 
"  Sir,  if  thou   hast  borne  him  hence,  tell  me 


232  THE    WOMAN    WEEIING 

where  thou  hast  laid  him,  that  I  may  take  him 
away."  The  stranger  then  spoke  one  word — 
"  Mary."  She  knew  that  voice ;  it  was  the 
Lord  who  called  her  by  name.  She  answered 
him  by  one  word — "  Master."     . 

Who  can  tell  what  joy  she  felt  at  that  mo- 
ment !  She  wranted  to  keep  him,  and  not  to 
let  him  ever  go  away.  But  he  said  he  soon 
must  go  up  to  his  Father  in  heaven.  Then  he 
sent  a  message  to  all  his  dear  friends,  and  he 
called  them  his  brothers.  This  was  the  mes- 
sage :  "  I  ascend  to  my  Father  and  to  your 
Father,  and  to  my  God  and  to  your  God." 
Then  Mary  went  to  tell  the  friends  of  Jesus 
that  she  had  seen  the  Lord,  and  she  told  them 
all  he  had  said  to  her.  Mary  was  the  very 
first  person  who  saw  the  Lord  after  he  rose 
from  the  grave. 

Jesus  has  been  gone  into  heaven  a  long 
while.  He  is  there  now.  Should  you  like  to 
see  him  in  his  glory  ?  He  will  come  again. 
He  knows  your  name.  Shall  you  like  to  hear 
his  voice  calling  out  Mary,  or  John,  or  what- 
ever your  name  may  be  ?  Speak  to  him  now  ; 
say,  "  Lord  Jesus  save  me."  Are  you  afraid 
that  he  will  not  save  you,  and  do  you  cry  when 
you  think  of  your  sins  ?  Jesus  sees  your  tears  ; 
he  says,  "  I  love  them  that  love  me,  and  they 
that  seek  me  early  shall  find  me." 

The  history  of  Mary  Magdalene  is  to  be 
found  in  Luke  8:2:  John  20  :  1-18. 


AT    THE    TOMB.  233 


HYMN  FOR  TWO  CHILDREN. 

(Each  to  say  one  line  by  turns.) 

Who  came  from  heaven  to  ransom  me  ? 
Jesus,  who  died  upon  the  tree. 
Why  did  he  come  from  heaven  above  ? 
He  came  because  his  name  was  "  Love." 
And  did  he  die— the  Son  of  God  % 
Yes,  on  the  cross  he  shed  his  blood. 
Why  did  my  Lord  and  Saviour  bleed  ? 
That  we  from  evil  might  be  freed. 
When  he  had  died,  what  happened  then? 
On  the  third  day  he  rose  again. 
Where  did  he  go  when  he  had  risen? 
He  went  to  God's  right  hand  in  heaven. 
Where  is  he  now  ?     Is  he  still  there  1 
Yes,  and  he  pleads  with  God  in  prayer. 
What  does  he  pray  for,  and  for  whom  ? 
He  prays  that  we  to  him  might  come. 
Should  we  not  come  ?     Should  we  not  come  ? 
Oh,  yes,  Christ  is  the  sinner's  home ; 
Christ  is  the  weary  sinner's  home — 
Oh,  let  us  come !  oh,  let  us  come  ! 


2(T 


THE  HAPPY  MORNING. 

Did  you  ever  get  up  very  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  walk  in  the  streets  just  before  it  was 
light  ?  You  did  not  meet  many  people,  did 
you  ?  It  was  very  quiet;  the  shops  were  shut 
the  window-blinds  were  down,  there  were  no 
cries  to  be  heard,  and  no  carriages  rolling  along, 
only  a  few  carts  ;  but  there  were  workmen 
going  to  their  work — they  looked  busy  and 
cheerful.  But  there  were  some  miserable 
creatures  who  had  been  drinking  ail  night, 
slinking  home.     Ah,  that  was  a  sad  sight ! 

I  am  going  to  tell  you  of  three  very  good 
women,  who  were  walking  out  very  early  in 
the  morning.  It  was  in  a  city  a  great  way  off, 
called  Jerusalem.  They  looked  as  if  they  had 
been  crying  a  great  deal.  What  could  be  the 
matter  ?  If  you  could  have  heard  what  they 
said,  you  might  have  guessed  where  they  were 
going.  One  of  the  women  said  to  the  others, 
"  Who  shall  roll  us  away  the  stone  from  the 
door  of  the  sepulchre  ?"  You  see  they  were 
going  to  a  tomb.  They  had  lost  some  dear 
friend,  who  was  buried  in  a  grave.  It  must 
have  been  a  different  sort  of  grave  from 
those  in  our  churchyards,  because  the  graves 


THE     IIAITY    MORNING.  235 

there  are  filled   up  with  earth  ;  but  this  grave 
had  a  great  stone  put  before  it. 

What  do  these  women  carry  in  their  hands  ? 
Some  jars  full  of  very  sweet-smelling  ointment 
and  spices.  That  sweet  stuff  is  for  the  dead 
body. 

Let  us  watch  to  see  where  these  women 
go.  It  is  not  to  a  churchyard,  but  to  a  garden. 
A  garden  is  a  sweet  place.  What  child  does 
not  love  a  garden  with  its  shady  walks  and  gay 
flower-beds,  its  smooth  lawns  and  pleasant  ar- 
bors? But  did  you  ever  see  a  tomb  in  a  gar- 
den? In  our  country,  the  dead  are  not  buried 
in  gardens  ;  but  this  grave  was  in  a  country  a 
great  way  off.  Jn  this  garden  there  was  a 
great  rock,  and  in  the  side  of  the  rock  there 
was  a  cave,  and  there  a  dead  body  had  been 
laid,  and  a  stone  had  been  rolled  close  to  the 
place  to  stop  up  the  entrance. 

When  the  women  came  to  the  garden,  the  sun 
was  rising,  and  everything  was  beginning  to 
look  bright.  They  soon  caught  sight  of  the 
rock.  How  much  were  they  surprised  to  see 
the  great  stone  rolled  away  from  before  the 
tomb  !  Were  they  glad  ?  Oh,  no  ;  they  were 
frightened,  for  they  were  afraid  that  some 
thieves  had  been  there,  and  taken  away  the 
dead  body  of  their  dear  friend  ;  so  they  went 
into  the  tomb  to  look  for  it ;  and  there  they 
found,  not  a  dead  body,  but  a  bright  angel.  A 
young  man  was  sitting  there  dressed  in  a  long 
white  garment;  he  was  one  of  those  good  and 


236  THE    HAPPY    MORNING, 

beautiful  creatures  who  live  with  God  iir 
heaven.  The  women  were  very  much  afraid 
when  they  saw  him.  But  he  spoke  kindly  to 
them ;  he  said,  "  Be  not  afraid :  ye  seek  Jesus 
who  was  crucified ;  he  is  not  here,  for  he  is 
risen.  Come  see  the  place  where  the  Lord 
lay." 

Now,  my  children,  you  know  who  the  dear 
friend  was  whose  body  the  women  were  looking 
for.  It  was  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God  ;  he  had  died 
three  days  ago,  but  God  his  Father  had  made 
him  alive  again.  He  died  to  save  us  from  going 
to  hell ;  but  he  soon  rose  out  of  his  grave,  for  he 
wished  to  take  us  to  heaven.  The  women 
were  too  glad  when  they  heard  what  the  kind 
angel  said  ;  they  could  hardly  believe  him,  yet 
they  knew  he  would  not  tell  them  lies.  The 
angel  next  desired  them  to  tell  all  the  friends 
of  Jesus  that  he  was  alive;  and  then  he  added, 
"  Ye  shall  see  him."  Oh,  what  a  promise  this 
was  !  How  they  did  long  to  see  Jesus  again  ! ' 
They  ran  quickly  from  the  tomb ;  they  were 
very  happy,  yet  very  much  afraid  ;  they  trem- 
bled as  they  went,  but  they  ran  as  fast  as  ever 
they  could,  and  never  stopped  to  speak  to  any- 
body they  met  on  the  way.  Yet  before  they 
had  gone  far,  they  met  some  one  who  spoke 
to  them,  and  they  stopped  gladly  to  answer 
him.  They  did  not  expect  to  see  him  so  soon. 
It  was  Jesus  himself.  The  last  time  they  had 
seen  him  he  was  bleeding,  and  his  hands  and 
his  feet  were  pierced  with  great  nails,  and  his 


THE    HAPPY    MORNING.  237 

forehead  torn  by  cruel  thorns  ;  but  now  he 
was  quite  happy;  he  would  bleed  no  more,  nor 
weep  any  more.  When  he  saw  the  women, 
he  told  them  to  rejoice  and  be  happy.  They 
came  near  him  and  held  his  feet — those  feet 
that  had  been  pierced  by  nails — the  marks 
were  still  there  ;  and  they  worshipped  him  as 
the  angels  do  in  heaven,  for  Jesus  is  God. 
Yet  still  they  were  frightened.  Jesus  said, 
"  Be  not  afraid  ;  go  and  tell  my  brethren  that 
they  shall  see  me."  Jesus  could  not  stay  with 
the  women  ;  he  wanted  to  see  his  brethren. 
These  women  were  his  sisters;  he  called  them 
sisters,  because  he  loved  them.  Jesus  calls  all 
his  friends  his  brothers  and  sisters.  Should 
you  like  to  be  his  little  brother,  and  would  you 
like  to  be  his  little  sister?  If  you  love  him,  he 
reckons  you  among  his  brothers  and  sisters. 
He  has  a  great  many ;  some  are  very  poor, 
and  even  ragged,  but  he  loves  them  as  well  as 
the  children  who  wear  silk  frocks  and  new 
coats.  I  do  not  know  your  name,  but  Jesus 
does.  The  name  of  one  of  the  women  was 
Mary,  and  the  other  was  called  Salome.  May 
you  be  like  those  women.  They  are  now  with 
Jesus  in  heaven,  for  he  is  still  alive.  He  never 
died  again,  but  he  went  up  to  heaven,  in  a 
cloud,  and  there  he  sits  on  a  throne  far  beyond 
I  he  brightest  star  ;  and  he  sees  all  that  happens 
down  in  this  world,  and  he  hates  all  wicked- 
ness ;  and  if  you  wish  to  please  him,  you  will 
try  to  leave  off  a1*  wicked  ways,  and  you  wiL 


238  the  happy  morning. 

pray  to  God  to  give- you  his  Holy  Spirit  to 
make  you  good.  I  should  like  you  to  go  to  that 
happy  place  where  Jesus  is.  and  to  see  the 
angels,  and  to  sing  with  them  for  ever  and 
ever. 

This  history  is  written  in  Matt.  28:  1-10; 
Mark  16:  1-8. 


Mary's  love  may  I  possess, 
Lydia's  tender-heartedness, 
Peter's  ardent  spirit  feel, 
James's  faith  by  works  reveal : 
Like  young  Timothy  may  I 
Every  sinful  passion  fly. 

Most  of  all,  may  I  pursue 
That  example  Jesus  drew ; 
By  my  life  and  conduct  show 
How  he  liv'd  and  walk'd  below  ; 
Day  by  day,  through  grace  restor'd 
Imitate  my  blessed  Lord. 


THE  HAPPY  EVENING. 

Dm  you  ever  spend  a  happy  evening?  1 
do  not  call  it  a  happy  evening  when  men 
meet  together  in  a  public-house  to  drink.  It 
may  be  a  merry  evening,  but  it  is  not  a  happy 
one ;  it  often  ends  in  quarrelling  and  fighting, 
and  the  next  day  is  very  miserable,  for  the 
men  find  their  money  is  gone,  and  their  heads 
are  heavy  and  full  of  pain.  I  do  not  call  it  a 
happy  evening  when  children  play  in  the 
streets  till  it  is  dark,  and  make  a  riot,  and 
behave  rudely  to  the  people  who  are  passing  ; 
for  when  they  get  home  they  are  not  happy. 
They  have  nothing  pleasant  to  think  of  as 
they  lie  in  their  beds ;  they  remember  they 
have  made  a  great  noise,  and  laughed  very 
loud,  till  the.  neighbors  were  angry  at  their 
rudeness;  this  does  not  make  them  feel  happy. 

But  what  is  a  happy  evening?  No  one 
can  be  happy  who  is  not  wishing  and  trying  to 
be  good.  It  is  children  who  love  God  and 
wish  to  please  him,  who  are  the  happy  children. 
When  they  go  and  pick  flowers  in  the  fields 
they  feel  happy,  and  when  they  sit  at  home 
and  repeat  their  little  hymns  to  their  mothers 
they  are   happy ;  and   even   when   they   are 


240  THE    HAPPY    EVENING. 

sick  and  going  to  die  they  are  happy,  because 
they  know  they  are  going  to  heaven,  that 
haLpy,  happy  place. 

I  am  going  to  tell  you  now  of  some  people 
who  iWed  God  very  much,  and  of  a  very 
happy  evening  they  spent.  You  have  heard 
how  the  Son  of  God,  Jesus,  once  lived  in  this 
world,  and  how  he  was  killed  by  wicked  men, 
and  nailed  to  a  cross  of  wood.  Two  days 
after  he  had  died,  some  of  his  friends  were  in 
a  room  together;  they  were  talking  about 
him.  Some  of  them  said  to  the  others,  "We 
have  seen  him  ;  he  is  alive  again."  Others 
said,  "We  have  not  seen  him."  How  much 
they  d;d  wish  to  see  him  !  All  in  a  moment 
Jesus  scood  in  the  midst  of  the  room.  How 
had  he  got  in,  for  the  doors  were  locked  ? 
He  could  get  in  whether  doors  were  locked  or 
unlocked  ;  it  made  no  difference  to  him,  for 
Jesus  is  God,  and  can  do  all  things. 

Jesus  spoke  to  his  friends  ;  these  were  his 
words,  "  Peace  be  unto  you  !"  which  means, 
"Be  happy;  I  will  make  you  happy."  But 
though  he  spoke  so  sweetly,  and  looked  so 
kindly  at  them,  his  friends  were  frightened  ; 
they  thought  it  could  not  be  Jesus  himself, 
because  they  had  seen  him  die  upon  the 
cross  :  they  thought  it  might  be  a  ghost  or 
spirit,  but  not  the  body  of  their  dear  Lord. 
Jesus  knew  they  were  frightened,  for  he  sees 
into  people's  hearts,  and  knows  all  they  think. 
So  he  told  them  not  to  be  afraid,  but  to  look 


211  THE    HArPY    EVENING. 

at  his  hands  and  his  feet.  He  said,  "  See,  it 
is  1  myself.  .  A  spirit  has  not  flesh  and  bones, 
as  ye  see  me  have."  Then  his  friends  looked 
at  his  hands  ;  they  saw  the  marks  of  the  great 
nails  which  had  fastened  those  dear  hands  to 
the  cross,  and  when  they  looked  at  his  feet 
they  saw  the  marks  of  the  nails  in  them  also. 
Then  they  looked  at  his  side,  and  they  saw 
the  deep  hole  which  the  spear  had  made  ;  for 
a  soldier  had  pierced  that  tender  side  with  his 
spear,  and  made  the  blood  flow  out  upon  the 
ground.  Those  marks  did  not  hurt  Jesus 
now ;  no  one  could  hurt  him  now ;  he  never 
could  feel  pain  again,  nor  could  he  die  any  more. 
When  his  friends  had  seen  those  marks, 
then  they  knew  that  it  was  Jesus  who  spoke 
to  them  ;  and  oh,  how  glad  they  were  !  I  do 
not  think  you  were  ever  so  glad  in  all  your 
life  as  they  were  at  that  minute,  for  they 
loved  Jesus  so  very  much.  They  knew  he 
had  died  to  save  them  from  going  to  hell.  Oh, 
how  they  loved  him !  Yet  still  they  could 
hardly  believe  it  was  Jesus  himself;  it  seemed 
too  wonderful  that  he  should  be  alive  again. 
Then  Jesus  said,  "Have  ye  here  any  meat?" 
He  meant  to  eat  something  before  them  to 
show  them  he  was  a  real  man,  and  not  a 
ghost  or  spirit.  There  was  a  little  food  in 
the  room;  it  was  the  sort  of  food  that  poor 
people  generally  ate  in  that  country — a  piece 
of  broiled  fish,  and  a  piece  of  a  honeycomb. 
Jesus  began  to  eat  this  food  while  all  his 
21 


242  THE    HAPPY    EVENING. 

friends  looked  at  him  ;  then  they  were  sure  he 
was  really  alive  again,  and  that  he  was  a  man 
like  themselves.  But  Jesus  was  God  as  well 
as  man,  and  he  soon  showed  them  that  he 
was.  He  told  them  to  go  and  tell  people  how 
he  had  died  and  lived  again ;  and  then  he 
breathed  on  them,  and  said,  "  Receive  ye  the 
Holy  Ghost."  How  wonderful  this  was !  His 
breath  was  not  like  our  breath.  With  his 
breath  he  gave  them  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God 
to  make  them  wise  and  good. 

Where  is  Jesus  now  ?  He  did  not  stay 
always  with  his  friends  in  this  world  ;  he 
went  up  to  heaven  to  his  Father  ;  he  is  with 
his  Father  now.  But  he  will  come  again. 
If  he  were  to  come  into  this  room  this  evening, 
should  you  be  glad  to  see  him  ?  '  He  knows 
whether  you  love  him.  Do  you  ever  speak  to 
him,  now  he  is  in  heaven  ?  He  knows  whether 
you  do.  Do  you  ever  think  when  you  are  at 
play,  "  Jesus  sees  me  now ;  I  will  not  grieve 
him  by  saying  wicked  words?"  He  knows 
your  thoughts.  When  he  comes  again,  I 
hope  he  will  call  you  by  your  name,  and  say, 
"Come,  come,  come  to  me,  my  child."  He 
will  say  to  some  people,  "  Go  away."  How 
dreadful  that  will  be ! 

You  will  find  this  history  in  Luke  24  :  35- 
43:  John  20:  19-23 


THE    HAPPY    EVENING.  243 

How  sweet  are  the  flowerets 

In  April  and  May  ! 
But  often  the  frost  makes 

Them  wither  away. 
Like  flowers,  you  may  fade 

Are  you  ready  to  die  1 
While  "  yet  there  is  room," 

To  a  Saviour  fly. 

Do  you  ask  me  for  pleasure  ? 

Then  lean  on  his  breast, 
For  there  the  sin-laden 

And  weary  find  rest. 
In  the  valley  of  death 

You  will  triumphing  cryt 
*  If  this  be  called  dying, 

'Tis  pleasant  to  die !" 


CHRIST  GOING  UP  TO  HEAVEN. 

Once  the  Son  of  God  walked  about  this 
world,  but  he  is  not  here  now.  Where  is  he  ? 
Jesus  the  Son  of  God,  is  in  heaven ;  he  is  sit- 
ting on  the  throne  of  God  his  Father.  When 
did  he  go  there  ?  Oh,  it  is  a  long  while  ago 
since  he  went  up  to  heaven.  I  will  tell  you 
how  it  was.  Surely  you  would  like  to  know 
all  about  it. 

On  the  day  that  he  meant  to  go  up  to  heaven, 
he  took  a  walk  with  some  of  his  dear  friends. 
They  loved  him  very  much,  as  well  they  might. 
Six  weeks  before,  he  had  been  nailed  to  a  cross, 
and  killed,  and  buried.  But  he  had  soon  come 
out  of  his  grave  ;  and  now  the  marks  of  the 
nails  might  be  seen  on  his  hands  and  feet,  and 
the  mark  of  a  great  spear  in  his  side,  but  the 
places  were  quite  well,  they  did  not  bleed  now, 
though  once  they  had  bled  a  great  deal. 
Whenever  his  friends  looked  at  those  marks, 
they  thought  of  his  love  in  dying  for  them  ;  for 
it  was  for  their  sins  he  died,  and  not  for  theirs 
only,  but  for  your  sins,  also,  my  child. 

His  friends  liked  to  walk  with  him  and  to 
talk  with  him.  About  what  did  Jesus  speak  ? 
About  his  Father,  and  about  heaven.     He  told 


CHRIST    GOING    UP    TO    HEAVEN.  245 

his  friends  he  should  soon  leave  them,  but  he 
made  them  a  promise.  What  was  it?  He 
said  that  he  would  send  the  Holy  Spirit  down 
from  heaven  to  be  with  them.  Who  is  the 
Holy  Spirit  ?  He  is  God ;  he  comes  down  and 
fills  the  hearts  of  God's  people.  It  is  pleasant 
to  see  Jesus,  and  to  walk  about  with  him ;  but 
it  is  still  better  to  have  the  Holy  Spirit  in  our 
hearts,  for  the  Holy  Spirit  makes  people  good 
and  happy. 

Where  was  Jesus  when  he  took  his  last  walk 
with  his  friends  ?  He  was  in  a  town  called 
Jerusalem,  and  he  walked  into  the  country. 
How  sweet  is  a  country  walk!  Children  who 
live  in  towns  are  delighted  when  their  fathers 
say  to  them,  "I  shall  take  you  to  the  green 
fields  to-day."  Then  the  children  think,  "  We 
shall  hear  the  birds  sing,  and  we  shall  gather 
flowers,  from  the  hedges,  and  see  the  little 
lambs  by  the  side  of  their  mothers ;  we  shall 
play  about  and  be  so  happy."  And  even 
grown-up  people  like  to  go  into  the  country. 
If  they  wish  to  talk  about  God,  they  like  to 
walk  in  a  quiet  place  among  shady  trees.  Jesus 
took  his  friends  by  his  favorite  path ;  he  led 
them  down  into  a  low  place  over  a  little  stream, 
then  by  a  garden  where  olive  trees  grew — then 
up  a  green  mountain  called  Olivet.  When 
they  were  at  the  top,  he  began  to  pray  with 
them.  While  he  prayed,  he  lifted  up  his  hands 
to  bless  them.  In  a  moment  he  was  gone — a 
cloud  took  him  up.  His  friends  looked  up, 
21* 


246  CHRIST    GO.jNG 

and  the  cloud  was  going  up  higher  and  higher, 
till  at  last  it  looked  like  a  speck,  and  then  could 
not  be  seen  at  all. 

But  on  the  mountain-top  there  stood  two 
men  ;  they  were  angels,  dressed  in  white.  Nc 
one  can  tell  how  bright  angels  look,  or  how 
sweetly  they  speak.  These  angels  had  come 
to  comfort  the  friends  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
They  asked  them  why  they  stood  looking  up 
towards  heaven;  and  told  them  that  Jesus 
should  come  again  in  the  same  way  that  they 
had  seen  him  go  into  heaven. 

Has  Jesus  come  again?  Not  yet;  but  he 
will  come.  Those  angels  would  not  have  told 
lies  ;  they  know  that  Jesus  will  one  day  come 
down  here  again,  and  that  they  shall  come  With 
him.  What  a  glorious  day  it  will  be  !  Some 
people  will  be  very  much  frightened  when 
they  see  him  ;  they  will  howl,  and  shriek,  and 
try  to  hide  themselves  in  deep  holes,  but  they 
will  not  be  able  to  get  away.  The  angels  will 
sieze  them,  and  shut  them  in  that  dark  and 
burning  place  where  Satan  will  torment  them 
for  ever  and  ever.  But  some  people  will  be 
glad  to  see  Jesus  ;  they  will  say,  "  This  is  our 
God ;  we  have  waited  for  him/'  Should  you 
be  glad,  my  dear  child,  to  see  Jesus  this  day  ? 
We  know  not  when  he  will  come.  Have  you 
prayed  to  him  to-day  ?     Do  you  love  him  ? 

But  what  became  of  the  friends  of  Jesus 
who  were  standing  on  Mount  Olivet  looking 
up  into  the  sk)  ?     They  could   not  stay  with 


UP    TO    HEAVEN.  247 

the  angels,  they  went  back  to  Jerusalem.  Did 
they  go  back  crying  and  sobbing,  and  saying, 
"  We  have  lost  our  dearest  friend  ?"  Oh,  no ; 
they  went  back  quite  glad,  for  they  had  not 
lost  Jesus  ;  they  knew  where  he  was  gone ;  they 
knew  he  would  pray  to  his  Father,  and  that  he 
would  send  down  the  Holy  Spirit  very  soon. 
So  they  waited  at  Jerusalem  as  Jesus  had  told 
them,  and  in  ten  days  Jesus  did  send  down  the 
Holy  Spirit,  upon  his  dear  friends. 

There  is  a  sweet  name  given  to  the  Holy 
Spirit;  it  is  this,  the  Comforter.  Why  is  he 
called  the  Comforter  ?  Because  he  comforts 
people  when  they  are  in  trouble.  When  we 
are  unhappy  we  like  to  be  comforted.  If  a  lit- 
tle child  falls  down  and  hurts  itself,  it  runs  cry- 
ing to  its  mother ;  it  wants  to  be  comforted. 
And  oh,  how  tenderly  a  mother  comforts  her 
little  darling !  She  takes  it  on  her  knees  and 
kisses  it,  and  says,  "  Tell  mother  what  is  the 
matter.  Has  it  hurt  its  dear  little  hand  ?"  and 
then  she  kisses  the  hand,  and  the  child  soon 
leaves  off  crying,  and  leans  its  head  upon  its 
mother's  bosom. 

But  no  mother  can  comfort  us  as  the  Holy 
Spirit  can.  He  tells  people  that  God  loves 
them,  and  has  forgiven  their  sins,  and  will  take 
them  to  heaven.  My  child,  ask  God  for  his 
Holy  Spirit,  and  he  will  hear  you. 

You  may  find  the  history  of  Jesus  going  up 
to  heaven  in  Luke  24  :  50,  to  end ;  Acts  1 ; 
1-12. 


248  CHRIST    GOING    UP    TO    HEAVEN. 


Ihere  is  a  glorious  world  of  light, 

Above  the  starry  sky, 
Where  saints  departed,  clothed  in  light, 

Adore  the  Lord  most  high. 
We're  marching  through  Immanuels's  ground 
And  soon  shall  hear  the  trumpet's  sound. 
We  hope  to  meet  at  Jesus'  feet, 
And  never,  never  part  again  ! 
What,  never  part'again  ? 
No  never  part  again  ? 
What,  never  part  again  ? 
No,  never  part  again. 
We  hope  to  meet  at  Jesus'  feet, 
And  never,  never  part  again. 


THE    HOLY   SPIRIT   COMING  DOWN 
FROM  HEAVEN. 

Every  one  likes  to  hear  good  news.  If  a 
person  comes  into  a  room  and  says,  "  I  have 
some  good  news  to  tell  you,"  every  one  looks 
up,  and  says,  "  Do  tell  us."  What  was  the 
best  news  ever  told  to  people  in  this  world  ? 
It  was  this :  "  Jesus  has  died  to  save  you." 
Who  told  this  news  first  ?  It  was  the  twelve 
apostles :  they  were  twelve  friends  who  walked 
about  with  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  when  he 
was  in  this  world  ;  they  saw  him  nailed  to  the 
cross,  they  saw  him  after  he  rose  out  of  his 
grave,  and  they  saw  him  go  up  to  heaven  in 
the  clouds. 

Before  Jesus  went  up,  he  told  them  to  go, 
and  tell  good  news  to  every  creature.  What 
good  news?  That  Jesus  had  died  to  save 
sinners.  But  how  could  the  apostles  tell  this 
good  news  to  every  creature  ?  There  are  a 
great  many  different  languages  in  the  world  ; 
some  people  speak  English,  and  some  French, 
and  some  Italian,  and  some  German.  The 
apostles  did  not  know  all  the  languages  ;  they 
knew  their  own  language  which  was  the 
Jewish  language  ;  but  Jesus  could  make  them 


250  THE    HOLY    SPIRIT    COMING 

know  erery  language.  Before  he  went  up 
into  heaven,  he  told  them  he  would'send  down 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  help  them  to  preach  the 
good  news.  Who  is  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  He  is 
God.  In  heaven  there  is  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Spirit ;  these  three  are  one  God,  one 
is  not  greater  than  the  other  ;  they  are  three 
in  one,  and  one  in  three.  This  is  a  great 
wonder  which  nobody  can  understand;  but 
we  may  be  sure  it  is  true,  for  God  has  said  it. 
It  was  the  Father  who  sent  his  Son  to  die  for 
the  world  ;  it  was  the  Son  who  died  upon  the 
cross ;  and  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  who  comes 
into  people's  hearts,  and  makes  them  good, 
and  wise,  and  happy. 

After  Jesus  was  gone  up  into  heaven,  the 
twelve  apostles  lived  in  a  city  called  Jerusa- 
lem, in  a  large  room  up  stairs.  A  great  many 
people  who  loved  Jesus,  used  to  come  very 
often  and  pray  with  them.  Some  of  these 
were  women,  and  one  of  them  was  Mary  the 
mother  of  Jesus.  Ten  days  passed  away,  and 
then  a  very  wonderful  thing  happened.  It 
was  in  the  morning,  before  nine  o'clock.  The 
apostles  and  their  friends  were  praying  to- 
gether in  that  large  room,  when  suddenly  a 
great  noise  was  heard  from  heaven.  It  was 
like  the  noise  of  the  wind  when  it  blows  very 
hard,  and  this  sound  filled  the  whole  house 
where  the  apostles  were  sitting.  But  there 
was  not  only  a  noise,  there  was  a  wonderful 
sight,  too.     There  were  seen  tongues,  which 


J)OWN    FROM    HEAVEN.  251 

looked  like  fire,  and  these  tongues  were  not  in 
one   whole   piece,   but  divided.     They  came 
and  sat  upon  each  of  the  people  in  the  room. 
Immediately  these  people  were  filled  with  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  they  began  to  speak  in  dif- 
ferent languages  which  they  had  never  learned. 
What  did  they  speak  about  ?     They  gave  the 
message  which  Jesus  had  told  them  to  give — 
"  Jesus  died  to  save  sinners."     They  did  not 
stay  in  the  room  up  stairs,  but  went  into  the 
street,  that  every  one  might  hear   them.     At 
that   time   there  were  in   Jerusalem  a  great 
many  people  from  other  countries,  for  it  was 
a  great  day  among  the  Jews,  and  those  Jews 
who  lived  in  distant  places  came  to  Jerusalem 
to  worship  God   on   that   day.     How   much 
surprised  they  were  to  hear  people  who  had 
never    learned,   speaking   so    many   different 
languages  !     Some  wicked  people  were  there 
who  said,  "  These  men  are  drunk."     I  suppose 
these  people  did  not  understand  the  strange 
languages,  and  thought  that  the  apostles   were 
talking   nonsense.     Soon   there  was   a  great 
crowd  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  ;  they  were 
saying  to  one  another,  "  What  can  this  be  ?" 
Then  one  of  the  apostles  named  Peter  stood 
up   to   preach.     This   was    the   first   sermon 
that  was  preached  after  Jesus  had  gone  up  to 
heaven.     The  crowd  listened  to  it  very  atten- 
tively.    What  was  it  about  ?     It  was  about 
the  message :  Peter  told  the  crowd,  that  the 
man  who  had  been  nailed  to  the  cross  a  little 


252  THE    HOLY    SPIRIT    COMING 

while  ago  was  the  Son  of  God,  and  that  he 
had  sent  down  his  Holy  Spirit  from  heaven. 
Peter  said,  "You  were  so  wicked  as  to  kill 
him,  but  God  his  Father  has  raised  him  out 
of  his  grave,  and  taken  him  to  heaven.  He  is 
now  your  King,  and  he  has  sent  down  the 
Holy  Spirit."  When  the  people  heard  that 
they  had  crucified  the  Son  of  God,  some  of 
them  were  very  unhappy ;  they  remembered 
how  he  had  been  treated — how  he  had  been 
spit  upon,  and  crowned  with  thorns ;  how  his 
back  had  been  torn  with  the  scourge,  and  his 
hands  with  the  nails  ;  they  remembered  how 
they  had  laughed  at  him  as  he  was  dying,  and 
how  meekly  he  had  borne  all  their  jeers.  No 
wonder  they  were  unhappy  now  ;  they  came 
to  the  apostles  and  said,  "  What  shall  we  do  ?" 
Then  Peter  said,  "  Repent."  He  told  them 
that  Jesus  would  forgive  them  ;  and  he  said 
he  would  baptize  them,  or  wash  them  in  water, 
as  Jesus  had  washed  away  their  sins  with  his 
blood.  He  even  said  that  God  would  give 
them  the  Holy  Spirit. 

How  happy  the  men  were  then  to  think 
that  Jesus  would  forgive  all  their  wickedness  ! 
What  a  comfort  that  was !  Yes,  dear  child, 
he  will  forgive  you,  too,  if  you  ask  him.  It 
was  for  your  sins  as  well  as  mine  he  died.  If 
no  one  had  ever  sinned  Jesus  would  never 
have  died  upon  the  cross.  Were  there  many 
people  who  were  sorry  for  having  killed  Jesus  ? 
A  great  many — three  thousand.     It  is  a  large 


DOWN    FROM    HEAVEN.  253 

church  which  can  hold  a  thousand  people  ; 
there  is  hardly  any  church  that  can  hold  three 
thousand. 

I  wish  people  now  would  believe  the 
oreachers  when  they  stand  in  the  pulpit  and 
6ay,  "  Jesus  has  died  to  save  sinners."  But 
very  few  believe.  Most  people  go  away  from 
the  house  of  God,  thinking  about  their  money, 
or  their  dress,  or  their  play,  or  their  plans. 
But  some  people  go  home  to  pray  to  God  in 
secret,  and  to  say,  "  What  have  I  done  ?"  and 
some  go  to  the  minister  and  say,  "  What  shall 
I  do?" 

You  may  read  this  history  in  Acta  2. 


THE  TWO  LIARS. 

Do  you  know  who  is  the  father  of  lies  ?  It 
is  a  creature  called  Satan.  He  was  once  a 
bright  angel  in  heaven,  but  a  long  while  ago 
he  grew  wicked,  and  God  cast  him  down  into 
a  dark  place  called  hell,  and  a  great  many  other 
angels  with  him.  Satan  and  his  angels  are 
called  devils.  They  come  into  this  world,  and 
do  a  great  deal  of  harm  here,  and  teach  people 
to  be  wicked. 

There  are  a  great  many  different  ways  of 
being  wicked.     One  of  these  ways  is  lying. 

Satan  told  the  first  lie  that  ever  was  told  in 
this  world.  He  told  it  to  the  first  woman 
whom  God  had  made.  Her  name  was  Eve. 
God  had  told  Eve,  that  if  she  ate  the  fruit  of 
a  certain  tree  she  should  die,  and  Satan  said 
she  should  not  die.  That  was  a  dreadful  lie. 
Eve  ate  the  fruit,  and  she  died. 

Now  I  am  going  to  tell  you  of  two  liars  who 
lived  a  long  while  after  Eve  was  dead.  They 
were  a  husband  and  a  wife.  The  name  of  the 
man  was  Ananias,  and  the  name  of  the  woman 
was  Sapphira.  They. agreed  together  to  tell  a 
lie ;  this  was  the  lie.  They  had  a  piece  ot 
land,  and  they  sold  it  for  some  money ;  then 


THE    TWO    LIARS.  25'5 

they  said  to  each  other,  "  Let  us  take  some  of 
the  money  and  give  it  to  a  good  minister  call- 
ed Peter,  and  tell  him  to  give  it  to  the  poor." 
Was  not  this  very  good  in  them  ?  Yes,  it 
seems  good.  But  now  hear  the  lie  they  meant 
to  tell.  "  Let  us  make  Peter  think  that  we 
have  given  all  the  money  we  got  for  the  land 
to  the  poor."  Oh,  this  was  the  lie !  They 
wanted  to  seem  very  good  and  generous,  but 
they  did  not  like  to  part  with  all  their  money ; 
so  they  made  up  their  minds  to  tell  a  horrible 
lie.  They  might  have  kept  all  their  money,  but 
why  tell  a  lie  ? 

Ananias  went  with  part  of  the  money  to 
Peter,  and  gave  it  him  for  the  poor.  But 
Peter  knew  that  he  meant  to  deceive  him,  and 
he  said  to  Ananias,  "  Why  hath  Satan  filled 
thy  heart  to  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  to  keep 
back  part  of  the  price  of  the  land  ?  While  it 
remained,  was  it  not  thine  own  ?  and  after  it 
was  sold,  was  it  not  in  thine  own  power  ? 
Thou  hast  not  lied  unto  men,  but  unto  God." 
As  soon  as  Ananias  heard  these  words,  he 
dropped  down  dead.  Everybody  who  heard 
of  his  death  was  very  much  afraid,  for  they 
knew  he  had  been  struck  dead  by  God  for  tell- 
ing a  lie.  Some  young  men  came,  and  wrap- 
ped him  in  a  cloth,  and  carried  him  out  and 
buried  him. 

His  wife  Sapphira  did  not  hear  what  had 
happened  to  her  husband.  About  three  hours 
after  his  death,  she  came  into  the  house  where 


25G  THE    TWO    LIARS. 

Peter  was.  Then  Peter  asked  her  for  how 
much  she  had  sold  the  land.  And  she  said  she 
had  sold  it  for  less  than  she  really  had,  in  hopes 
of  making  Peter  think  that  she  had  given 
away  all  the  money. 

As  soon  as  she  had  told  the  lie,  Peter  said, 
"  How  is  it  that  ye  have  agreed  together  to 
tempt  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  ?  Behold,  the 
feet  of  them  which  have  buried  thy  husband  are 
at  the  door,  and  shall  carry  thee  out."  Imme- 
diately she  fell  down  at  Peter's  feet  and  died ; 
and  the  young  men  came  in  and  found  her 
dead,  and  carried  her  out,  and  buried  her  by 
her  husband.  So  in  one  day  these  two  liars 
died  and  were  buried. 

If  God  were  to  strike  all  liars  dead,  how 
many  sudden  deaths  would  take  place !  But 
God  is  very  patient,  and  bears  with  sinners  a 
long  while,  that  they  may  have  time  to  repent 
and  to  ask  for  pardon.  For  God  will  pardon 
sinners  if  they  ask  him.  Yes,  he  will  pardon 
liars  who  wish  to  leave  off  telling  lies.  The 
reason  why  he  is  so  ready  to  pardon  is,  because 
he  is  kind  and  merciful,  and  because  he  gave 
his  only  Son  Jesus  Christ  to  die  upon  the  cross 
to  save  sinners  from  being  punished. 

But  there  is  a  place  to  which  all  liars  who 
are  not  pardoned  will  be  sent  one  day.  It  is 
a  burning  lake — not  a  lake  of  water,  but  a  lake 
of  fire.  Satan,  the  father  of  lies,  will  be  cast 
into  it,  and  so  will  all  his  children,  all  liars 
are   his   children.     These   are   the   words   of 


THE    TWO    LIARS.  257 

God.  c*  All  liars  shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake 
which  burneth  with  fire  and  brimstone." — Rev. 
21:  8. 

You  can  read  about  those  two  liars,  Ananias 
and  Sapphira,  in  Acts  5  :  1-11. 


THE  ALL-SEEING  GOD. 

Almighty  God,  thy  piercing  eye 
Strikes  through  the  shades  of  night, 

And  our  most  secret  actions  lie 
All  open  to  thy  sight. 

There's  not  a  sin  that  we  commit, 

Nor  wicked  word  we  say, 
But  in  thy  dreadful  hook  'tis  writ 

Against  the  judgment-day. 

And  must  the  crimes  that  I  have  done 
Be  read  and  publish'd  there — 

Be  all  exposed  before  the  sun, 
While  men  and  angels  hear  ? 

Lord,  at  thy  feet  ashamed  I  lie, 

Upward  I  dare  not  look ; 
Pardon  my  sins  before  I  die, 

And  blot  them  from  thy  book. 

Remember  all  the^dying  pains 

That  my  Redeemer  felt, 
And  let  his  blood  wash  out  my  stains, 


258  THE    TWO    LIARS. 

Oh  may  I  now  forever  fear 
T'  indulge  a  sinful  thought, 

Since  the  great  God  can  see  and  hear, 
And  writes  down  every  fault. 


FOR  ME. 


Lord,  to  thy  mercy-seat  I  come, 
And  bow  before  thy  throne  ; 

Here  at  thy  footstool  will  I  plead 
The  merits  of  thy  Son. 

Though  crimes  of  deepest  dye  appear, 
And  justice  bids  thee  slay  ; 

Yet  in  thy  mercy  will  I  trust, 
To  wash  my  sins  away. 

My  only  hope  is  in  that  blood, 
For  me  on  Calvary  shed  ; 
My  only  plea  is  this — for  me, 
For  me  my  Saviour  bled. 

For  me  uponjthe  cross  he  hung, 
For  me  passed  through  the  tombj 

For  me  to  glory  rose,  and  there] 
Prepares  my  happy  home. 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  CHARIOT. 


W&F^ 


A  long  while  ago  there  lived  a  good  man 
name  Philip.  An  angel  once  spoke  to  him, 
and  told  him  to  go  into  a  desert  place.  A  de- 
sert is  a  place  where  there  are  no  cornfields,  very 
little  grass,  and  very  few  trees.  People  do  not 
live  in  deserts,  but  sometimes  they  pass  through 
them  when  they  are  travelling.  Why  did  the 
angel  desire  Philip  to  go  to  a  desert  ?  You  will 
soon  see  the  reason  why  Philip  went. 

When  he  got  to  the  desert,  he  saw  a  chariot 
passing  along.  In  this  chariot  a  very  rich  man 
was  riding.  The  Spirit  of  God  said  to  Philip, 
"  Go  near,  and  join  thyself  to  this  chariot."  So 
Philip  went  close  up  to  it.  There  was  a  very 
daik  man,  almost  black,  sitting  in  the  chariot, 


260  THE    MAN    IN    THE    CHARIOT. 

reading  aloud.  The  carriage  went  so  slowly 
and  so  softly  over  the  sand  that  Philip  could 
hear  what  the  man  was  reading.  Philip  listen- 
ed, and  he  heard  the  words,  "  He  was  led  as  a 
sheep  to  the  slaughter ;  and  like  a  lamb  dumb 
before  his  shearers,  so  he  opefned  not  his  mouth." 
Philip  knew  that  these  words  were  in  the  Bible, 
and  he  understood  what  they  meant,  but  he 
thought  that  the  rich  man  did  not  understand 
so  he  said  to  him,  "  Understandest  thou  what 
thou  readest  ?"  The  rich  man  answered, "  How 
can  I,  except  some  man  should  guide  me  ?" 

You  see  that  the  rich  man  was  not  proud 
A  proud  person  is  ashamed  to  say  he  does  not 
understand  ;  a  proud  person  does  not  like  to  be 
taught.  But  this  rich  man  wished  Philip  to 
teach  him,  and  he  asked  him  to  come  up  and 
sit  in  the  chariot  by  his  side.  As  soon  as 
Philip  was  seated  in  the  carriage,  the  rich  man 
said  to  him,  "  Of  whom  speaketh  the  prophet 
this;  of  himself,  or  of  some  other  man?" 
Then  Philip  told  the  rich  man  who  that  meek 
Lamb  was.  How  many  little  children  now 
know  who  that  Lamb  was !  Jesus  was  the 
Lamb  of  God  who  was  nailed  to  the  cross  for 
our  sins,  and  like  a  sheep  when  the  shearer  is 
shearing  him,  so  he  was  gentle  and  quiet  while 
the  wicked  people  were  tormenting  him. 

Philip  told  the  rich  man  a  great  deal  about 
Jesus.  He  told  him,  also,  that  people  who  be- 
lieved in  Jesus  were  baptized,  or  washed  in 
water,  to  show  that  their  sins  wTere  wasted 


THE    MAN    IN    THE    CHARIOT.  261 

away  in  the  blood  of  Christ.  When  the  rich 
man  heard  Philip  say  this,  he  wished  very 
much  to  be  baptized.  At  last  he  saw  some 
water.  There  is  not  much  water  in  the  desert, 
but  now  and  then  there  is  a  pool  or  a  narrow 
stream  to  be  seen.  The  rich  man  was  glad  to 
see  the  water,  and  he  cried  out,  "  Here  is 
water.  "  Why  cannot  I  be  baptized  ?"  Then 
Philip  said,  "  If  thou  believest  with  all  thine 
heart,  thou  mayest."  The  rich  man  replied, 
"  I  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God." 
Then  the  rich  man  desired  the  driver  to  stop 
the  carriage,  and  he  got' out,  and  so  did  Philip, 
and  they  went  down  into  the  water,  and  Philip 
baptized  the  rich  man.  Did  Philip  get  into 
the  carriage  again,  and  go  home  with  his  new 
friend?  No;  the  Spirit  of  God  caught  him 
away,  and  put  him  down  into  a  town  a  great 
way  off. 

How  much  surprised  the  rich  man  must 
have  been  to  find  that  Philip  was  gone  away 
so  suddenly !  But  he  was  not  unhappy.  Now 
he  could  understand  the  Bible;  now  he  be- 
lieved in  Jesus ;  now  he  was  baptized  in  his 
name,  and  he  was  a  true  Christian.  He  knew 
that  Jesus  loved  him,  and  he  would  take 
him  to  live  with  him  forever.  Could  he  be 
unhappy  ?  He  got  into  his  chariot  again  full 
of  joy,  and  he  went  back  to  his  own  country. 
It  was  a  heathen  country,  where  people  wor- 
shipped idols.  But  soon  the  people  turned 
from  idols  to  serve  the  living  and  true  God. 


262  THE    MAN    IN    THE    CHARIOT. 

Do  you  think  the  rich  man  often  read  over 
that  verse,  "He  was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter  ?"  This  was  the  first  verse  about 
the  Lord  Jesus  that  he  ever  knew.  Is  there 
any  verse  that  you  are  very  fond  of?  Per- 
haps you  learned  some  little  verse  a  long  while 
ago  about  Christ  that  you  will  never  forget. 

If  you  want  to  find  the  verse  about  the 
Lamb,  look  for  Isaiah  53 :  7.  If  you  want  to 
read  more  about  this  rich  man,  look  for  Acts  9 : 
26,  to  the  end. 


Around  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven, 
Thousands  of  children  stand — 

Children  whose  sins  are  all  forgiven, 
A  holy,  happy  band, 

Singing  glory,  glory,  glory. 

In  flowing  robes  of  spotless  white, 

See  every  one  array'd, 
Dwelling  in  everlasting  light, 

And  joys  that  never  fade, 

Singing  glory,  glory. 

Once  they  were  little  things  like  you, 

And  lived  on  earth  below, 
And  could  not  praise,  as  now  they  do, 

The  Lord  who  loved  them  so 
Singing  glory,  glory. 


THE    MAN    IN    THE    CHARIOT.  263 

What  brought  them  to  that  world  above, 

That  heaven  so  bright  and  fair, 
Where  all  is  peace,  and  joy,  and  love  ? 

How  came  those  children  there  ? 
Singing  glory,  glory. 

Because  the  Saviour  shed  his  blood 

To  wash  away  their  sin  j 
Bathed  in  that  pure  and  precious  blood, 

Behold  them  white  and  clean, 
Singing  glory,  glory. 

On  earth  they  sought  the  Saviour's  grace. 

On  earth  they  lov'd  his  name  j 
So  now  they  see  his  blessed  face, 

And  stand  before  the  Lamb, 
Singing  glory,  glory. 


THE 

MAN  WHO  SAW  THE  GREAT  LIGHT. 

Saul  was  once  a  very  wicked  man.  He 
lived  in  the  world  soon  after  Jesus  had  been 
crucified,  and  after  he  had  gone  to  sit  on  his 
Father's  throne  in  heaven.  Saul  had  heard 
of  Jesus,  but  he  did  not  love  him.  He  did 
not  believe  that  he  was  the  Son  of  God ;  and 
he  hated  all  those  people  who  did  believe  in 
him.  Saul  was  a  very  cruel  man ;  he  went 
about  from  one  city  to  another  to  get  hold  of 
good  people,  and  to  put  them  in  prison.  The 
judges  in  those  days  were  wicked,  and  allowed 
Saul  to  send  good  people  to  prison.  Once 
when  wicked  men  were  throwing  large  stones 
at  a  very  good  man  called  Stephen,  Saul 
stood  and  looked  on  quite  pleased ;  and  when 
he  saw  Stephen  fell  down  dead,  bleeding  and 
covered  with  bruises,  he  was  not  sorry. 

At  last  he  set  out  on  a  journey  to  a  city 
called  Damascus.  Why  did  he  go  there  ? 
To  put  in  prison  those  who  loved  the  Lord 
Jesus.  He  did  not  go  alone  ;  some  men  went 
with  him  to  help  him.  It  was  about  twelve 
o'clock  in  the  middle  of  the  day  when  he 
came  near  Damascus.     The  sun  was  shining 


THE    GREAT    LIGHT.  265 

bright,  when  suddenly  a  greater  light  than  the 
sun  was  seen  in  the  sky.  It  was  so  great  a 
light,  that  Saul  could  not  bear  to  look  at  it ; 
he  fell  to  the  ground,  and  the  men  that  were 
with  him  also  fell  to  the  ground.  While  they 
were  all  lying  on  their  faces  very  much  fright- 
ened, Saul  heard  a  voice  speaking  from  the 
sky.  No  one  heard  it  but  Saul.  Whose 
voice  was  it  ?  It  was  a  voice  that  you  have 
never  heard,  but  you  will  hear  it  one  day.  It 
was  the  voice  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And 
what  did  Jesus  say  ?  He  said,  "  Saul,  Saul, 
why  persecutest  thou  me?"  What  did  he 
mean  by  these  words  ?  He  meant  that  he 
was  grieved  because  Saul  tried  to  hurt  his 
people ;  for  Jesus  loves  his  people  very  much 
indeed.  Did  Saul  answer  the  Lord  Jesus  ? 
Yes,  he  did  ;  he  said,  "  Who  art  thou,  Lord  ?" 
Then  the  Lord  said,  "  I  am  Jesus,  whom  thou 
persecutest ;  it  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against 
the  pricks."  While  Saul  had  been  trying  to 
hurt  good  people,  he  had  only  been  hurting 
himself.  It  would  be  silly  in  a  child  to  kick 
against  spikes ;  he  would  only  hurt  his  own 
little  feet,  and  make  them  bleed. 

All  this  time  Saul  was  very  much  fright- 
ened; he  was  now  sorry  for  his  wickedness, 
and  he  said  to  the  Lord,  "  What  wilt  thou  have 
me  to  do  ?"  Then  the  Lord  said,  "  Arise,  go 
into  the  city,  and  it  shall  be  told  thee  what 
thou  shalt  do."  When  Saul  got  up  from  the 
ground,  he  found  that  he  was  blind — the  great 
23 


266  THE    MAN    WHO    SAW 

light  had  blinded  his  eyes.  The  other  men 
were  not  blind,  and  they  led  him  by  the  hand 
into  Damascus,  and  they  took  him  to  a  lodging 
in  a  street  called  Straight-street ;  there  he 
stayed,  thinking  of  his  sins,  and  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  The  other  men  could  not  com- 
fort him,  for  they  had  not  heard  the  voice,  nor 
had  they  seen  the  Lord,  as  Saul  had.  But 
God  sent  a  good  man  to  comfort  him.  This 
man  was  called  Ananias,  and  he  spoke  kindly 
to  Saul,  and  put  his  hands  on  him  and  said, 
"  Brother  Saul,  receive  thy  sight."  Imme- 
diately Saul  was  able  to  see.  Then  he  was 
baptized,  and  afterwards  he  took  some  food, 
and  began  to  feel  stronger. 

Ananias  told  Saul  what  the  Lord  wished 
him  to  do.  What  was  it  ?  To  preach  about 
Jesus;  to  tell  everybody  how  he  had  been 
crucified  for  their  sins,  and  that  he  was  ready 
to  forgive  them,  and  that  he  was  sitting  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father,  and  that  he  would 
come  again  to  judge  the  world.  And  did  Saul 
do  what  the  Lord  commanded  ?  Oh,  yes ; 
he  spent  the  rest  of  his  days  in  preaching 
about  Jesus.  Wicked  people  hurt  him,  as  he 
had  once  hurt  good  people.  One  day  they 
threw  great  stones  at  him,  till  he  seemed  to  be 
dead,  and  eight  times  they  beat  him  in  a 
cruel  manner.  Often  they  put  him  in  prison, 
and  at  last  they  killed  him, 

Saul  is  now  called  Paul.  He  had  two 
names.      When   he   was    alive   pome   people 


THE    GAEAT    LIGHT.  267 

called  him  Saul,  and  some  called  him  Paul. 
Now  he  is  dead,  everybody  calls  him  Paul.  He 
wrote  a  great  many  beautiful  letters,  and  the,y 
are  printed  in  the  Bible.  Children  cannot 
understand  all  these  letters,  but  they  can 
understand  part.  Here  is  a  verse  which  Paul 
wrote,  that  you  can  understand :  "  Christ 
Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners,  of 
whom  I  am  chief."     1  Tim.  1  :  15. 

You  will  find  the  history  of  Paul  seeing  the 
light  in  Acts  9:  1-22;  22:  1-21;  26:  1-20 


HYMN  FOR  A  POOR  NEGRO. 
We  love  the  Lord  ;  he  came  to  save 
Poor  negro  from  the  sinner's  grave  : 
Though  we  are  black,  and  mean,  and  vile, 
Lord  Jesus,  on  poor  negro  smile. 

We  love  him,  and  we  would  not  break 
The  least  command  our  Saviour  spake  ; 
But  pray  him,  by  his  precious  blood, 
To  make  us  humble,  faithful,  good. 

Soon  comes  the  night — the  bright  beams  go. 
And  all  is  dark  above,  below ; 
But  by  and  by  the  sun  will  rise, 
And  sweetly  shine  in  morning  skies. 

Poor  negro  !  he  so  dark  in  face, 
\nd  dark  the  lot  of  negro  race ; 


268  THE    GREAT    LIGHT. 

But  be  our  Saviour's  blessing  given, 
And  he  shall  rise  to  shine  in  heaven. 

Then  black  and  white,  and  bond  and  free, 
The  servants  of  our  Lord  shall  be ; 
And  nothing  shall  be  heard  above, 
"But  sounds  of  praise,  and  peace,  and  love 


THE  MAN  WHO  SAW   HEAVEN  BE- 
FORE  HE  DIED. 

Many  children  have  some  playfellow  of 
whom  they  are  very  fond.  Perhaps  there  is 
some  child  whom  you  like  to  be  with.  Have 
you  any  favorite  friend  whom  you  like  to  walk 
with,  and  to  talk  to,  and  sit  by  ?  I  hope  it  is  a 
good  child  who  is  your  friend.  If  he  is  bad,  I 
fear  he  will  make  you  as  bad  as  himself. 

There  once  was  a  man  who  was  the  friend 
of  the  Son  of  God.  What  a  happy  man  he 
must  have  been !  Would  you  like  to  hear 
about  him  ? 

The  Son  of  God  once  lived  down  in  this 
world,  and  his  name  was  Jesus.  He  had 
many  friends.  His  dearest  friend  was  called 
John ;  John  was  a  poor  fisherman,  but  he  left 
his  boats  and  his  nets,  that  he  might  go  about 
with  Jesus  from  place  to  place,  and  hear  his 
sweet  words. 

At  last  the  time  came  when  Jesus  must 
leave  his  dear  friends.  The  evening  before  he 
di-ed,  he  took  supper  with  twelve  of  his  friends. 
It  was  the  custom  in  that  hot  country  for  peo- 
ple to  lie  down  at  supper  to  rest  themselves. 
John  lay  down  next  to  Jesus,  and  he  leaned 
23* 


270      THE  MAN  WHO  SAW  HEAVEN 

his  head  upon  his  Lord's  bosom.  Was  it  not 
pleasant  to  be  so  near  the  Son  of  God? 

That  night  Jesus  went  into  a  garden  to 
pray,  and  John  went  with  him,  and  so  did  the 
other  friends — all  but  one,  who  did  not  really 
love  his  Lord.  Some  wicked  men  came  to 
the  garden  and  bound  Jesus  with  ropes  and 
led  him  away.  John  was  afraid  of  going  with 
his  Lord ;  he  left  him,  and  went  a  good  way 
off.  But  afterwards  he  went  to  look  for  him  ; 
he  saw  him  hanging  upon  his  cross  of  wood, 
with  nails  through  his  hands  and  feet.  John 
stood  near  the  cross,  and  next  to  John  stood  a 
woman  ?  Who  was  it  ?  Mary,  the  mother 
of  Jesus.  How  unhappy  she  was  to  see  her 
dear  son  dying  on  a  cross!  Jesus  loved  his 
mother ;  he  looked  at  her,  and  then  at  John, 
and  he  said  to  her,  "Behold  thy  Son!"  He 
meant  that  John  was  to  be  her  son.  And  he 
said  to  John,  "  Behold  thy  mother !"  John 
understood  what  his  Lord  meant,  and  very 
soon  afterwards  he  took  the  poor  mother  to 
his  own  home.  Do  you  not  think  he  must 
have  loved  the  mother  of  his  dear  Lord  ?  I  am 
sure  he  liked  to  take  care  of  her. 

John  saw  his  Lord  die  upon  the  cross  that 
day  at  three  o'clock,  and  he  saw  the  soldiers 
come  to  see  whether  Jus  was  dead,  and  he  saw 
one  of  them  thrust  a  spear  into  the  side  of 
Jesus.  The  spear  did  not  hurt  him,  because 
he  was  dead,  but  from  his  side  blood  and  water 
came  flowing  out     It  was  very  strange  to  see 


\ 


BEFORE    HE    DIED.  271 

water  as  well  as  blood.  It  is  the  precious 
blood  of  Jesus  that  washes  away  sin.  Water 
can  make  your  body  clean,  but  the  blood  of 
Jesus  can  make  your  heart  clean.  Wicked- 
ness is  like  dirt.  Jesus  died  to  take  away  our 
sins.  Do  you  want  to  have  your  sins  taken 
away  ?  Then  think  how  Jesus  died  upon  the 
cross  that  you  might  not  go  to  hell,  then  pray 
to  God  and  say,  "Forgive  my  sins,  because 
Christ  died."  God  in  heaven  will  hear  your 
little  prayer,  if  you  say  it  from  your  heart. 
John  was  very  unhappy  when  Jesus  was  dead, 
and  he  shed  tears  of  sorrow.  But  in  three 
days  Jesus  was  alive  again.  A  woman  came 
one  morning  to  tell  John  that  Jesus  was  alive, 
and  John  ran  very  fast  to  his  grave  to  see 
whether  it  was  true.  Another  of  the  friends 
of  Jesus  ran  with  him.  His  name  was  Peter. 
John  got  to  the  grave  first,  and  looked  in. 
When  Peter  got  there,  he  went  in,  for  the 
grave  was  made  in  the  side  of  a  rock,  and  you 
could  walk  into  it  as  into  a  room.  After  Peter 
had  gone  in,  John  went  there  too,  and  he  saw 
the  white  linen  clothes  that  had  been  wrapped 
round  Jesus  lying  in  the  grave — not  all  in  a 
heap  together,  but  folded  up.  Then  John  be- 
lieved that  his  Lord  was  really  alive  ;  for  at 
first  he  thought  some  thieves  had  stolen  his 
dead  body,  but  he  knew  that  thieves  would  not 
have  folded  up  the  clothes  and  left  them  in  the 
grave. 

That  very  evening  John  saw  his  dear  Lor-' 


272      THE  MAN  WHO  SAW  HEAVEN 

again.  How  much  pleased  he  was  to  see 
him  all  at  once  standing  in  the  room!  He 
saw  him  again  another  day  by  the  water-side  ; 
and  another  day  he  walked  with  him  up  a 
high  hill;  he  heard  him  pray,  and  suddenly 
he  saw  a  cloud  come  and  take  bim  up  into 
heaven.  John  could  not  go  up  in  the  cloud 
with  him;  he  staid  down  in  this  world,  and 
told  everybody  about  Jesus,  and  how  he  died 
upon  the  cross  to  take  away  our  sins. 

Did  John  ever  see  his  Lord  again  ?  Yes. 
When  he  was  a  very  old  man,  he  was  sent  to 
a  place  called  Patmos ;  there  was  water  all 
round  it  and  a  great  many  wicked  people  were 
sent  to  this  land  as  a  punishment  for  their 
crimes.  But  had  John  done  some  wicked 
thing  ?  No  ;  he  had  not  stolen,  nor  killed  any 
one;  he  had  preached  about  Jesus,  and  a 
cruel  king  sent  him  to  this  place  as  a  punish- 
ment. One  day  (it  was  the  Lord's  day)  he 
heard  a  voice  behind  him  like  the  sound  of  a 
trumpet,  and  he  turned  to  see  who  it  was, 
and  he  saw  Jesus — not  looking  as  he  once 
had  done,  but  shining  very  bright — yes,  as 
bright  as  the  sun  shines  at  noon.  John 
was  so  much  surprised,  that  he  fell  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus  as  if  he  had  been  dead.  But 
Jesus  touched  him  with  his  right  hand,  and 
said,  "  Fear  not ;  I  am  the  first  and  the  last. 
I  am  he  that  liveth  and  was  dead,  and  behold 
I  am  alive  for  evermore."  Then  Jesus  talked 
to  him,  and  told  him  to  write  down  what  he 


BEFORE    HE    DIED.  273 

said  in  a  book ;  and  John  did  write  it,  and  you 
may  read  what  Jesus  said  to  him.  Afterwards 
John  saw  the  angels  in  heaven,  and  saw  peo- 
ple who  once  lived  in  this  world,  all  clothed 
in  white,  and  looking  so  happy  and  singing 
so  sweetly,  and  he  saw  Jesus  sitting  on  his 
throne  with  God  his  Father.  It  was  an  angel 
who  showed  him  all  the  beautiful  sights  in 
heaven.  John  was  so  much  pleased  with 
what  he  saw,  that  he  was  going  to  worship  the 
angel ;  but  the  angel  said,  "  See  thou  do  it 
not;  worship  God."  We  must  not  even 
worship  angels,  because  they  are  only  crea- 
tures whom  God  made. 

Jesus  spoke  again  to  John,  and  told  him 
that  he  would  open  the  gates  of  heaven  to 
let  in  people  who  did  his  commandments,  but 
that  he  would  not  let  any  liars  come  in. 
"  All  liars  shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake 
which  burneth  with  fire  and  brimstone." 
Jesus  will  come  again  to  this  world.  He 
said  to  John,  "Behold,  I  come  quickly/'  And 
John  said,  "  Come,  Lord  Jesus."  He  has  not 
come  yet.  John  has  been  dead  a  long  while ; 
his  spirit  is  in  heaven  with  Jesus. 

Do  you  wish  to  live  with  Jesus?  Have 
you  told  lies  ?  Are  you  afraid  of  going  into 
that  burning  lake?  Beg  Jesus  to  wash  away 
your  lies  in  his  blood ;  he  has  forgiven  a  great 
many  liars,  and  I  know  he  would  forgive  you. 
There  are  many  now  singing  glory  in  heaven 


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274   THE  MAN  WHO  SAW  HEAVEN,  ETC. 

unto  Him  that  loved  them,  and  washed  them 
from  their  sins  in  his  own  blood.     Rev.  1 :  5. 
There  is  something  about  John  in  the  last 
chapter  of  the  Bible. 


ABOUT  GOD  AND  HEAVEN. 

Bright  angels  bow  before  his  face, 

And  saints  stand  waiting  round  his  throne, 
And  in  that  holy,  happy  place, 
No  sinful  thoughts  or  words  are  known. 


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